Investing in property
in France from Mexico

In practice, it is a French bank that finances your property in France, with the HCSF standard: 35% debt-to-income ratio, insurance included, and 25 years at most. It looks at your income in pesos with caution because of currency risk, and not all of them accept Latin American residents. The choice of banks and the presentation of the application make the difference. From Mexico City, 7 hours behind Paris (8 hours in summer), exchanges with the bank and the notary take place early in the morning. A loan in pesos from a French bank is only possible if you mainly receive your income, or hold assets, in that currency; most applications are financed in euros.

Also read: which banks lend to expats and how much down payment to plan for.

The 1991 treaty grants the Mexican credit only for French income tax: social contributions are not included and in principle remain a cost. The €150,000 exemption on the capital gain on a home remains open to French nationals who live in Mexico, under conditions. The former main residence can also be exempt if you sell it by 31 December of the year following departure at the latest, without having let or lent it in the meantime: the tax authority’s list includes Mexico among the countries that help France collect tax, but have your notary confirm this point before counting on it. These two exemptions cannot be combined.

Also read: how the rents of a non-resident are taxed.

In Mexico, a French SCI may be treated differently than in France, which complicates the credit for French tax: to be studied with a Mexican accountant before buying through a company.

The right choice depends on your project and your country: compare with the rental income tax calculator.

As a Mexican tax resident, you are taxed in Mexico on your worldwide income, at a progressive rate that reaches 35%. Your French rents and, on resale, your capital gain go into your annual return, to be filed by 30 April of the following year at the latest (the Mexican tax year is the calendar year, as in France). Income tax paid in France is deducted from the Mexican tax due on the same income, without being able to exceed it: keep your French tax notices to justify it. Have the return prepared by a Mexican accountant used to foreign income.

If you are paid in pesos, your monthly payment in euros varies with the exchange rate: a fall in the peso makes the effort heavier each month. French rents, for their part, are in euros and repay the loan in the same currency. This is also why the bank treats your income with caution and looks closely at your savings in euros.

The steps of the ImmoPourExpat method, from the first call to letting →