SAT Tightens Enforcement and Steps Up Taxpayer Service: The Bet to Shore Up 5.8 Trillion Pesos in 2026
Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) unveiled its 2026 Master Plan with an ambitious goal: collect more than 5.8 trillion pesos through a strategy built on three fronts—better taxpayer service, more targeted audits, and a more aggressive crackdown on the buying and selling of invoices—at a time when public finances are under pressure from higher spending needs and an economy trying to maintain its growth pace.
On the first front, the tax authority plans to expand its physical footprint with new offices in states with strong economic activity and population growth—such as Baja California, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán—while also strengthening its Mobile Office model nationwide. At the same time, it pledges faster processing and assistance, especially for tax refunds, a sensitive issue for individuals and businesses that rely on refunds to support cash flow.
Digitalization again takes center stage. SAT expects more online services, improvements to its appointment system, and an update to the Virtual Window used for inquiries and clarifications. The rationale is twofold: boost voluntary compliance and reduce administrative friction in an environment where formality remains a structural challenge. In Mexico, the large share of informal employment limits the taxpayer base and forces the authority to extract revenue more efficiently from those already in the system—without losing sight of gradually bringing new taxpayers into the fold.
The second front focuses on enforcement. SAT wants audit planning to be more “objective,” with defined criteria to focus reviews on taxpayers showing risk signals rather than broad-based inspections. This shift toward risk models and data cross-checking is supported by growing analytical capacity: e-invoicing, tax returns, accounting records, foreign trade data, and transaction traceability. For the private sector, the message is clear: anyone with inconsistencies between CFDIs (digital tax invoices), tax filings, and banking or customs operations could face faster, deeper reviews.
The third front targets the core of one of the costliest practices for revenue collection: the trade in allegedly simulated tax receipts, tied to “facturera” networks. The authority plans timely reviews to identify both issuers and those who deduct nonexistent transactions, and it also intends to set a 30-day window for taxpayers who used invoices labeled as fake to correct their situation. In practice, this could translate into self-corrections, payment of omitted taxes, inflation adjustments, surcharges and penalties—and in serious cases, criminal exposure—along with reputational damage and reduced access to financing.
The Master Plan arrives as the government seeks to preserve macro stability: keeping public debt on an orderly path, sustaining social programs, and funding priority projects, while addressing spending pressures in security, healthcare, and infrastructure. To do that without broad-based tax hikes, revenue gains through efficiency—more compliance and less evasion—become the main lever. In recent years, Mexico’s fiscal policy has largely favored that route: tighter oversight, more “invitation letters,” targeted audits, and intensive use of digital information.
Looking ahead, the economic impact will depend on execution. Greater collection efficiency can strengthen the fiscal position and reduce the need for borrowing, which typically supports confidence and lowers the sovereign’s financing costs. However, it can also raise compliance costs for some businesses, especially small and mid-sized firms with weak administrative processes. That makes the promise of simplification and guidance crucial to prevent tougher enforcement from translating into more litigation or stronger incentives to move into informality. In a moderate-growth environment where consumption is sensitive to interest rates and employment, the balance between oversight and facilitation will be key.
In short, SAT is betting on a combination of better service, smarter enforcement, and zero tolerance for simulated transactions to sustain revenue in 2026. If it can speed up refunds, streamline procedures, and concentrate audits on high-risk behavior, it could increase income without major tax changes; if not, the tougher stance could raise operational uncertainty for compliant taxpayers. The outcome will depend less on the announcement and more on how consistently and transparently the new rules are applied.
