The short version
Menaje de casa is the México move rule people hear about when they start shipping furniture, clothes, books, tools, and ordinary household goods.
The idea is simple: qualifying used household goods can enter México without import duties when the person fits the rule and the paperwork is done correctly.
The execution is not simple.
México’s Customs Law exempts certain used household goods of permanent residents and repatriated or deported nationals, but it excludes commercial or industrial goods and vehicles. The Customs Law Regulation then defines what counts, what has to be certified by the Mexican consulate, what must be listed, how long the person must have lived abroad, and when the goods can arrive. The current public PDFs from the Cámara de Diputados show the Customs Law updated through November 19, 2025, and the Customs Law Regulation updated through February 23, 2026.
For a U.S. person, this is more than a shipping chore. The household-goods file can become part of the tax-residence, state-exit, and cross-border documentation file. If the box list is sloppy, the timing is off, or the person assumes a certificate is the same as customs clearance, the move can start with a preventable customs problem.
What the rule is
México’s Customs Law, Article 61, lists items for which import or export taxes are not paid.
The household-goods rule is in Article 61, fraction VII. It covers household goods belonging to permanent residents and repatriated or deported nationals, if those goods were used during the person’s residence abroad. The same provision can cover scientific instruments and tools of professionals, workers, and artisans, subject to the timing and formalities in the regulation.
The same sentence also tells you what is not inside the exemption. Goods kept abroad for commercial or industrial activities are excluded. Vehicles are excluded.
That matters because the phrase “move my stuff duty-free” is too broad. The rule is not for everything in a storage unit, everything in a garage, everything in a home office, or everything the moving company can load into a container.
It is a customs exemption for qualifying used household goods and limited professional tools, with formalities.
What counts as household goods
The Customs Law Regulation, Article 100, defines the household goods that can qualify.
It includes used goods such as the ordinary furnishings and movable goods of a home used for ordinary family life, clothing, books, bookcases, and certain art or scientific works that are not complete collections for exhibitions or galleries.
It also covers scientific instruments of professionals and tools of workers or artisans when they are indispensable for the profession, art, or trade. But the regulation draws a line: those scientific instruments and tools cannot amount to complete equipment for installing laboratories, consulting rooms, or workshops.
That line is practical. A laptop, books, hand tools, and ordinary personal work items may fit the household-goods story. A commercial inventory, a full clinic buildout, a workshop, or business equipment meant to run a Mexican operation can look like something else.
The consular certificate is the paper trail
Article 101 of the Customs Law Regulation is the certificate/list rule.
It authorizes the household-goods import under Article 61, fraction VII when the customs entry is accompanied by a declaration certified by the Mexican consulate where the person lived abroad.
That declaration has to include:
| Required item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Importer’s name | Ties the goods to the person claiming the treatment. |
| Foreign residence address | Shows where the person lived abroad. |
| Time of residence abroad | The regulation says the time abroad cannot be less than six months. |
| México residence address | Shows where the household is being established in México. |
| Description and quantity of goods | Lets customs compare the certified list to the shipment. |
| Prior household-goods import information | Helps police repeat or duplicate use of the rule. |
That is why the inventory is not cosmetic. It is the center of the file.
If the inventory says “miscellaneous boxes,” the file is weak. If it identifies categories, quantities, used condition, and the relationship of the goods to the household, the file is much stronger.
Timing can break an otherwise good move
The timing rule is in Article 104 of the Customs Law Regulation.
The exemption for baggage and household goods can apply when the passenger brings the goods on entry or exit, or when the goods arrive or leave within a timing window: three months before the passenger’s entry or exit, and six months after the passenger has arrived or left.
That creates a simple move calendar:
| Move event | Working rule |
|---|---|
| Goods travel with you | Fit the entry or exit directly into the customs file. |
| Goods arrive before you | Keep the arrival inside the three-month-before window. |
| Goods arrive after you | Keep the arrival inside the six-month-after-arrival window. |
| Shipment is delayed | Preserve carrier records and ask customs counsel before assuming the certificate fixes timing. |
| Second or later shipment | Check Article 101’s later-import authorization rules. |
The certificate does not make timing irrelevant. It supports the customs entry. The shipment still has to fit the rule.
Permanent resident and temporary resident are different lanes
Permanent-resident household goods and temporary-resident household goods should not be collapsed.
Article 61, fraction VII is the duty-exemption rule for qualifying household goods of permanent residents and repatriated or deported nationals.
Temporary residents are handled differently. Customs Law Article 106 addresses temporary imports, and subsection IV(b) refers to used household goods owned by temporary residents and temporary resident students, subject to the regulation and SAT rules.
Article 159 of the Customs Law Regulation then gives the temporary-resident framework. The person must prove the immigration condition, state the place where residence will be established in México and describe the goods, and declare to customs that the goods will be returned and that a change of address will be reported.
That is a different risk profile. A temporary resident should not read a permanent import exemption and assume the same answer applies. The status, customs treatment, and later obligations need to match.
The mistakes that create customs friction
Most menaje de casa problems are avoidable.
The first mistake is shipping before the certificate and customs plan are ready. If the goods are already moving, the paperwork is no longer controlling the shipment. The shipment is controlling the paperwork.
The second mistake is listing everything as household goods. Article 61 excludes vehicles and goods kept abroad for commercial or industrial activity. Article 100 also blocks the idea that professional tools can become a complete lab, consulting room, or workshop.
The third mistake is ignoring timing. A shipment outside the three-month-before or six-month-after window can turn a clean move into an exception request or dispute.
The fourth mistake is treating the consular certificate as final clearance. It is not. The certificate/list supports the customs entry. The actual import still has to be handled through the Mexican customs process.
The fifth mistake is separating the customs file from the tax file. If a person tells México they are establishing a residence, ships an entire household, opens local accounts, and starts working from México, those facts may matter later in a tax-residence or state-exit analysis.
The inventory should be boring on purpose
The best menaje de casa list is not dramatic. It is specific, ordinary, and easy to match to the shipment.
The goal is to show that the goods are used household goods and personal-use items, not a disguised business import. That means the list should avoid vague descriptions where precision is possible.
Use categories that a customs reviewer can understand:
| Weak description | Better description |
|---|---|
| Miscellaneous boxes | 12 boxes used clothing, linens, and household kitchen items. |
| Electronics | 2 used televisions, 1 used printer, 3 used computer monitors. |
| Office | 1 used desk, 1 used chair, 2 bookcases, 1 personal computer. |
| Tools | Hand tools for personal household use, or professional tools tied to a named trade if the rule applies. |
| Art | Household wall art, not inventory or a complete exhibition collection. |
This is where the customs file and the tax file overlap. A list that looks like an ordinary move supports an ordinary move. A list that looks like inventory, business equipment, or a commercial setup creates questions that may have nothing to do with the original tax plan but can still slow the move.
The article is not saying every business-related item is prohibited. Article 100 allows some professional instruments and tools when they are indispensable for the profession, art, or trade. The point is that the file should make the classification visible. If the item is personal household property, describe it that way. If it is a professional tool, document why it fits the tool lane. If it is business inventory, a vehicle, or equipment for a commercial operation, do not force it into the household-goods story.
The move file to keep
Build the menaje file like you expect someone to ask for it later.
Keep:
- the consulate-certified household-goods declaration;
- the full goods list with descriptions and quantities;
- proof of foreign residence for the required period;
- México residence address evidence;
- passport, visa, temporary or permanent residence documentation;
- bill of lading, airway bill, carrier invoices, packing list, and insurance documents;
- customs entry documents and release records;
- records showing which goods were excluded, separately imported, or not shipped;
- any local customs-broker or Mexican counsel correspondence;
- the date goods left, arrived, cleared, and were delivered.
For U.S. tax purposes, those records do not prove the whole answer. The IRS says U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad generally remain subject to U.S. filing and worldwide-income reporting.
But the records are still useful. They help explain when the move became real, what home was being established, what assets crossed the border, and how the México fact pattern fits the tax year.
What this means for you
If you are moving to México, do not treat menaje de casa as a moving-company add-on.
Treat it as a legal and tax-adjacent move file:
- Confirm whether you are in the permanent-resident lane, temporary-resident lane, student/researcher lane, or another category.
- Build the household-goods inventory before the goods move.
- Separate household goods from vehicles, business inventory, and commercial equipment.
- Check the three-month-before and six-month-after timing windows.
- Match the consular certificate, customs entry, shipping records, and residence facts.
- Preserve the records for the U.S. return, state-exit file, and México local-counsel review.
The duty-free part is valuable. The bigger value is forcing the move to be documented before it becomes a tax mess.
Related reading
Related reading in this country track includes Moving to México: The One Tax Treaty That Works in Your Favor, Center of Vital Interests: Becoming a Mexican Taxpayer Without Noticing, México’s 2026 Residency Income Thresholds, Selling Your Mexican Home as a Non-Resident: The 25 vs 35 Percent Trap, and Household Goods and Residency Paths for Uruguay.
How Sheepdog Tax can help
I am Noah Green, a CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner, and Sheepdog Tax is a veteran-owned practice. I help U.S. taxpayers with foreign work, digital assets, and cross-border filing facts build the tax file before the return locks in the position. For a México move, that means coordinating the customs move file, Mexican tax-residence facts, U.S. worldwide-income return, foreign reporting, state-exit evidence, and local-counsel handoff before the facts become difficult to reconstruct. To request a México expat tax diagnostic, reach me at noah@sheepdogtax.com.
Sources (official source first)
- Orden Jurídico Nacional, Mexican Customs Law PDF, text current through DOF November 19, 2025. http://www.ordenjuridico.gob.mx/Documentos/Federal/pdf/wo3.pdf
- Orden Jurídico Nacional, Mexican Customs Law Regulation PDF, text current through DOF February 23, 2026. http://www.ordenjuridico.gob.mx/Documentos/Federal/pdf/wo102496.pdf
- IRS, U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad
Prepared by Noah Green, CPA, CFE.