Appointment site of SAT for RFC cards.

Patrick O’Heffernan and Catherine-Claire Blythe. Do you have RFC number? Do you know if you do? Do you know what it is and that you need one? If the answer was no to any of there questions, read on.

The 2022 Tax Reform law passed by México now requires all citizens and legal residents (Permanente or Temporal) to have a Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (English: Federal taxpayer registration), known simply as an RFC number. 

Plus, if you do business in México– even if you are only a customer of CFE or the water company or an internet provider – you need to fill out a form Constancia de Situación Fiscal (English: Proof of Fiscal/Tax Situation), which companies will soon be asking you for, if they have not already.

 The RFC number  and the Constancia de Situación Fiscal will be used by the Mexican government to track income and potential money laundering, but they will be used for many other things. Without an RFC number on your CFE bill, you won’t be able to sell your house or buy a car.  Without an RFC number you won’t be able to open a bank account, and in some places, sign up for an internet service. So, you can’t blow it off.

This is a  NEW REQUIREMENT FOR EVERYONE over the age of 18. who lives in México, full time or part time, whether or not you earn money in México.  If you have a Temporal, a Permanente or a CURP, you must get an RFC number. Some people who have been here awhile may have been assigned an RFC number, so you should go online and check if you have one (see video link in the box).  

 If you don’t have an RFC, you have to actively go through a process to get one. The  process is complicated, although you can hire someone to  help you. But at some point you will have to personally visit a Mexican  tax office so they can obtain biometric information of physiological characteristics like – but not limited to – fingerprints, iris patterns, or facial features.

The process for the Constancia de Situación Fiscal is much simpler and is done completely  online, although you can hire someone to help you with it, too.You will need your RFC before filling out the Constancia de Situación Fiscal form.

You get an RFC number by physically showing up at an office of the Mexican equivalent of the American IRS, called the Sistema de Administración Tributaria (English: Tax Administration System), known by its initials, SAT. You must go in person, with your documents, so they can obtain  your biometric information. And you have to do it by July 1,o 2022.

The nearest SAT office to Lakeside is in Guadalajara at Calz. Lázaro Cárdenas 2305, Las Torres, Guadalajara 44920.

For an RFC, you must get an appointment, which you can do online at http://citas.sat.gob.mx.  You will need  your CURP number (if you don’t know your CURP number, see below).  Follow the steps on the site  for a personal RFC (not a business RFC). If you don’t speak Spanish, use Google Translate to convert it to English or have a bi-lingual friend help you. 

Fill in your info, follow the steps which will bring you to a calendar to use to schedule an appointment, but you will likely see a notice telling you there are no appointments available. If so, enter your email address to be put into a “virtual line” for the next available appointment. You will get an email confirming that you are in the virtual line and to monitor your email for your date. If you actually can make an appointment, take it because it may go away in a few seconds as thousands of people are trying to get them.

For the Constancia de Situación Fiscal, you can complete the process online, but you must have a RFC number first to  fill out the Constancia de Situación Fiscal. Note that the Spanish word «Constancia» simply means “proof” in Spanish and there are other documents with the word «Constancia» on them .  You need a document whose  full title is Constancia de Situación Fiscal. You can go to  satid.sat.gob.mx and fill out  the correct form.

As this is a new process and involves taxes, whether or not you pay them in México, it might be helpful to check with an attorney or accountant who is familiar with Mexican tax law and the new RFC process. 

While it may be convenient to use online translation to fill in the forms in English, SAT has not clarified if this is acceptable and a safer course may be to get help filling in the forms in Spanish until SAT clarifies this. Since the form for the Constancia de Situación Fiscal requires that you video yourself repeating  some information in Spanish, you might want to get coaching in proper pronunciation.

Additionally, the Mexican government has not addressed  a number of questions, such as  a requirement for those with existing RFC umbers to update them with biometrics, or “snowbirds” with Temporals currently out of the country , an attorney or accountant can help you keep abreast of changes and new requirements.  

For this story, Catherine-Claire Bly compiled the information for a Facebook post and Patrick O’Heffernan organized it in Semanario Laguna news style

(Sidebar box)

Videos to help you through the RFC process.

While this is all very complicated, there is help online in the form of videos by  Qroo Paul of Two Expats in Mexico.  Here ae the relevant videos:

RFC number explained and why you need one. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_bMe2LUYU

How  to find out if you I already have a valid, current RFC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B9kUK37lQA

Making an appointment with SAT  for an RFC, and paperwork/items to take with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_bMe2LUYU

Step-by-step instructions on how to obtain a «Constancia de Situación Fiscal» online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh2li1L6mA8

Finding your CURP alpha/number if you don’t know it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcmKc9vrSIA