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Selling or Renting by App in Cancún: How Much the SAT Withholds and the 2027 Plan to Cut It

Lodging hosts, online sellers and delivery workers face automatic ISR and IVA withholdings. The sector wants them lowered in the 2027 revenue law. How to avoid the highest rate.

Person using a sales and lodging app on a smartphone

If you rent a room in Cancún through a lodging platform, sell products on a marketplace or deliver food through an app, the platform already deducts taxes automatically before paying you. Under the Tax Administration Service's (SAT) current rules for the technology-platform regime, in 2026 the ISR (income tax) withholding is 2.1% for transport and goods delivery, 2.5% for selling goods and providing services, and 4% for lodging. On top of that, IVA (value-added tax) is withheld at 8% if your RFC tax ID is registered in the app.

The penalty for not registering is steep: without an RFC registered in the regime, the platform withholds 20% ISR and 16% IVA — more than double in several cases. When your income from these activities does not exceed 300,000 pesos a year, those withholdings act as a final payment, meaning you no longer file an annual calculation for that income.

The change up for debate. Digital-commerce groups proposed that the upcoming 2027 Revenue Law — which the executive delivers to Congress on September 8 — cut the withholdings: lowering the withheld IVA from 8% to 2% and the ISR on the sale of goods and services from 2.5% to 1%. They argue that since the rates rose in 2026, active sellers' income has contracted by 20% to 52%, and that easing the withholding protects the cash flow of micro and small businesses without giving up revenue. It is only a proposal: any change depends on what Congress approves and is not yet in force.

What to do in the meantime. To pay the lower rate rather than 20%/16%, register your RFC under the technology-platform regime, keep your tax mailbox (buzón tributario) active, and add your RFC inside each app you use. Keep the withholding statements the platforms issue — they are your proof — and if you exceed the 300,000-peso threshold or combine income from several sources, file monthly returns by the 17th of each month. In Cancún, where app lodging and online sales are a source of income for thousands of families, keeping your RFC in order is the difference between being withheld 4% or 8% versus having double deducted.

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