Buying Property in Colombia from Mexico

If you live in Mexico and want to buy in Colombia, the purchase follows Colombian rules, while Mexico’s SAT has its own rules for income from abroad. This guide separates the two. It is educational, not legal or tax advice.

What stays the same in Colombia, whatever your passport?

The paperwork is an escritura signed before a notary and registered with the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos, under the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro. The steps are the same for Mexican buyers; see the step-by-step buying guide.

Foreign investment in Colombian real estate must be channeled through the exchange market. Banco de la República lists foreign investment in Colombia, and its yields, among the operations that must be channeled; its own example is a non-resident buying an apartment in Cartagena. Channel the transfer through the exchange market, and ask your bank what the wire must show. Registering the foreign investment has its own guide. A Colombian contador can confirm how Colombia taxes that rent; see Colombian tax on rental income.

How does Mexico tax a property in Colombia?

Under Article 1, section I of the Ley del ISR, Mexican residents are taxed on all their income, wherever the source of the income is located. That includes rent from a property abroad.

SAT does not give a foreign-property line for rent. Its annual-return guide for arrendamiento asks whether the income came from arrendamiento, subarrendamiento or both, and it never names a foreign-property line. It does have one general question: whether you obtained income and paid tax abroad, or have foreign tax still to credit. Article 90 of the same law leaves foreign-source income out of provisional payments, except the salary case in Article 96. Ask your contador how to report Colombian rent and the Colombian tax you pay.

What is the REFIPRE return (forma 63)?

We found no general foreign-account or foreign-asset form for individual taxpayers. What we did find is the REFIPRE informative return, forma oficial 63, which SAT says Mexican residents file during February for income of the prior year subject to a preferential tax regime. The statute treats as such income that is not taxed abroad or is taxed below 75 percent of the Mexican income tax that would be caused and paid. The SAT page states no peso threshold.

Article 178 also requires the same return for income from territories named in the law's transitory provisions and for operations through fiscally transparent foreign entities or foreign legal figures. Bank CRS reporting is a different matter and does not use this form. Whether any of your Colombian income falls under REFIPRE is a question for your contador.

Is there a Mexico–Colombia tax treaty?

Yes. DIAN's list shows an income-tax treaty with the Estados Unidos Mexicanos, in force 11/07/2013, Ley 1568 de 2012. A later DIAN opinion says the treaty entered into force on 1 January 2014. We did not find SAT’s own treaty page naming Colombia. Ask your adviser which date and which provisions matter for your rent.

Can you sign from Mexico? Apostille and powers of attorney

Mexico and Colombia are both parties to the Apostille Convention. The HCCH status table shows entry into force on 14 August 1995 for Mexico and 30 January 2001 for Colombia. According to the HCCH, federal documents are apostilled by the Secretaría de Gobernación, and there are 32 competent authorities for state documents. Ask your notary which authority handles your document, and read the power-of-attorney guide.

Sending money and bank reporting

On the Colombian side, the money must go through the exchange market. Ask your bank what the wire must show. Banks may ask for source-of-funds documents; ask your bank what it needs.

On the Mexican side, we found no individual filing threshold for bank transfers sent abroad on Banxico or SAT pages. SAT does require a customs declaration from anyone entering or leaving Mexico with more than the equivalent of USD 10,000 in cash, checks, payment orders or similar instruments; that is for carried money, not wires.

On information exchange, the OECD activated-relationships table, last updated 1 October 2026, lists Colombia to Mexico and Mexico to Colombia as "CRS MCAA activated". Ask your bank what it reports.

Visa basics for Mexican passports

Mexican passports are on Cancillería’s Lista A. According to its visa page, holders may enter, stay and leave Colombia without a visa for short-stay activities, including business, leisure, tourism or cultural interest, as long as the activities do not generate payment for services or a salary in Colombia. Resolución 5488 de 2022 defines short stay as under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in the cases the rule determines.

Separately, the M Inversionista visa in the real-estate case requires title solely in the foreigner's name for at least 350 salarios mínimos mensuales legales vigentes (SMLMV) at the application date, plus Banco de la República extracts registering the investment (Cancillería). See the visa guide.

Questions to take to your advisers

Take our free one-page due-diligence checklist to your first meeting. The Colombian-side parts of the Colombia Owner Kit (calendar, checklists, Spanish-language letters, BanRep records pack and question lists) apply to you, but its home-country sheet today is the United States sheet, with a Mexico sheet scheduled for March 2027, so for home-country rules today use your own adviser.

• Colombian lawyer or contador: Which taxes and registrations apply to my purchase and rent, and how do I document the exchange-market channeling?
• Mexican contador: How do I report Colombian rent and the tax paid, how does the treaty apply, and does REFIPRE or forma 63 touch my situation?
• Your bank: What does it need for an international transfer, and what does it report?
• Notary: Which authority apostilles my power of attorney?

This guide is educational, not legal or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an income-tax treaty between Mexico and Colombia?

Yes; DIAN’s list shows an income-tax treaty with Mexico in force 11/07/2013, while a later DIAN opinion says it entered into force on 1 January 2014. Ask your adviser which date and provisions matter for your rent.

Does Mexico tax rent from a property in Colombia?

Mexican residents are taxed on all their income, wherever the source of the income is located. SAT does not give a foreign-property line for rent, so ask your contador how to report it.

What is REFIPRE and forma 63?

REFIPRE is an informative return, forma oficial 63, that Mexican residents file during February for income subject to a preferential tax regime. Whether any of your Colombian income falls under it is a question for your contador.

Can I enter Colombia without a visa to look at property?

Mexican passports are on Cancillería’s Lista A, so holders may enter Colombia without a visa for short stays that do not generate pay in Colombia. Resolución 5488 de 2022 defines short stay as under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in the cases the rule determines.

Not sure where you stand? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, pre-order) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: K19, the one-page due-diligence checklist.