Are you one of the 20 million Mexicans who already have at least one insurance policy to protect your assets and well-being from unexpected risks or planning to acquire one in the coming months? Your policy’s cost is set to rise due to new tax regulations.
Starting in 2026, you may notice price increases for various products and services like soft drinks, serums, cigarettes, violent video games, and even insurance. The reason? Adjustments to certain tax rates and payment schemes approved by legislators recently.
What were the tax changes?
In the context of the approval of the Federal Income Tax Law 2026 in the Chamber of Deputies, lawmakers endorsed measures to strengthen the “correct” fulfillment of tax obligations by insurance companies. The Senate has already approved these changes and sent them to the Executive for ratification.
Following a prior agreement between the government and private sector, the amendments set that insurance companies cannot claim VAT paid on goods or services acquired from third parties, nor the VAT paid in imports resulting from damage compensation or replacement of damaged assets, as per insurance contract terms. This information is provided by the tax consulting firm Garrido Licona.
The last day for insurance companies to claim this VAT in tax payments is December 31, 2024.
In exchange for abandoning ongoing IVA-related lawsuits and organizing tax payments, the authority will offer a tax incentive (waiver) of approximately 175,000 million pesos to insurance companies that have not paid this tax correctly in previous years.
Companies only need to settle what corresponds to 2025, estimated at 25,000 million pesos, a similar amount to what authorities expect to collect annually from this change in the IVA tax framework.
Tere Garcia believes that the agreement between the government and insurance companies prevented a crisis within the sector, avoiding a massive impact that would have affected policyholders and the national economy.
What do insurance companies say?
The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) states that companies “will fully comply with all approved provisions” in the Federal Income Tax Law 2026.
“These modifications reinforce and guarantee the correct fulfillment of obligations by insurance companies,” they add in an informational note.
Where did the disagreements begin?
According to Di Costanzo, the SAT initiated this problem: “I’m not excusing the insurance companies, but in this case, the tax authority started the issue. Why? Around 2019, insurance companies consulted the SAT about handling the IVA topic; then, the authority chose a criterion, insurance companies began taxing under it, and after three years, the SAT changed it and told them they would now tax differently, additionally handling it retroactively.”
This situation, says the former president of Condusef, wouldn’t have occurred if the SAT provided a clear criterion from the beginning and didn’t retract it.
Key Questions and Answers
- What are the new tax rules affecting insurance costs? The changes in the Federal Income Tax Law 2026 prevent insurance companies from claiming VAT on certain goods and services, leading to increased costs that will be passed on to policyholders.
- Why are insurance costs expected to rise in 2026? The new tax regulations force insurance companies to absorb additional costs, which they will then transfer to policyholders in the form of higher premiums.
- What is the agreement between the government and insurance companies? The government and insurance companies reached a deal to prevent a crisis within the sector. In return for abandoning ongoing IVA-related lawsuits, the government offers a tax incentive (waiver) of approximately 175,000 million pesos to insurance companies that have not paid this tax correctly in previous years.
- What role did the SAT play in this situation? The SAT’s changing criteria and retroactive application of new tax rules on insurance companies initiated the disagreements, according to Di Costanzo.
