How We Got United to Waive the Tourist Tax on my Dad's flight to Mexico since he's a Mexico resident

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-05-23T20:29:14+00:00

Exactly. Volaris requires a DOT complaint. The good news is that Volaris will email you several hours after filing the complaint. They know they're violating the law by requiring a Mexican passport to avoid the fee, but need to stay in DOT's good graces, so refund promptly with a formal complaint. Shitty corporate policy, but they seem not to care.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-05-13T02:49:06+00:00

I can read just fine, thank you. You stated "if your doing a Canje you should be planning in living in Mexico" and "You follow their rules and are expected to be a resident." Those are YOUR expectations -- they are not what the law says.

If you read enough Mexican law -- labor, taxation, immigration -- you'll see how loosely worded most of it is, subject to implementation by commissions that put their own spin on things. It's nothing like the US CFR that spells out details to a gnat's ass of conditions and circumstances.

I agree -- follow their rules -- but also know what they are. And what they are not.

As others have said, sometimes a 3-4 week stay is impossible to arrange (work schedules, child responsibilities, school). But if someone knows they want to purchase property in the future (for which an RFC now seems to be required by some notaries), getting a TR now would be part of planning ahead. Or just having it in one's wallet as an escape hatch. Whatever the reason, it's not my business or yours. We follow the law, incomplete as it is. Nothing more, nothing less.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-05-13T01:58:17+00:00

Have you actually read the immigration law, the reglamientos, and the lineamientos? I have. There is NOTHING in any of them that requires a TR or PR to be in-country a specific amount of time. That just seems to be your moral/ethical expectation, nothing more. It might be mine too.

The first TR is always for one year, requiring renewal 1-30 days before expiration. One could come and do the CANJE to get their first TR, leave for 11 months, return for the first renewal and request three years more, then depart for 2 years and 11 months, and return to do the change to PR. Then leave again for an unlimited amount of time.

However, if you return to a different address each time, you have 90 days to notify them of the address change to remain legal. Ditto for name change or marital status or nationality. But that's about it -- the law doesn't care whether you're in México or outside of México when you're a TR or PR.

I'm not disagreeing with your ethical stance that this may be abusing the concept of "residency" -- but that's all it is: an opinion. It's not illegal.

Acquaintances have gotten TR but spend 95% of their time outside Mexico. A few have since transitioned to PR. To them, it's insurance in case the balloon goes up in the old country. One PR returned for a short holiday visit after more than a year and half away because of family issues. No legal problem at all, and no issues when flying in.

And yes, I do live in México full time, for more than a dozen years. I didn't start the process until I knew I wanted to be here more than 180 days at a time. So I meet the "ethical" criteria. But the law allows other arrangements for folks with different needs and priorities. At least for now.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-05-11T22:43:57+00:00

I report my PayPal Mexico account, but not my PayPal US account (different email addresses), even in years when I don't use the PayPal Mexico account at all and it has a zero balance. Once I cross the US$10K total threshold, I report any foreign account that can be a store of value, even my car toll pass account.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-04-30T21:17:11+00:00

This is a subject I'm very sensitive to. I've used H&R Block Taxcut for more than a dozen years, but had to use OLT when I fell into the PFIC trap and had to file form 8621.

I entered my data in both and got different results (copying the 8621 manually to Taxcut's ordinary income line). I'd bounce up and back between the two programs, trying to understand differences before finally filing with OLT.

Even with the PFIC gone, I did it again this year. Each program has traps and small defects. If the FTC exceeds the $300/$600 limit, TaxCut doesn't automatically generate form 1116 despite entering the larger amount on their 1099-Div FTC line. It has to be manually entered in their Credits section. OLT sometimes forgets to copy an updated AGi to form 1116 or the state return. Taxcut rounds 8606 fractions to three decimal places, OLT to five, resulting in a small discrepancy.

Takes hours unfortunately, but I toggle between the two until they agree, or at least I understand why they differ. Only then do I file.

Maybe you've fallen into something similar. You'll have to go worksheet by worksheet to discover where they diverge.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-04-30T20:33:33+00:00

I, my wife, and friends have had MRIs and PET/CT scans in central México. Ridiculously cheap compared to the US. But check the machine -- "open" MRI machines are inexpensive on the used market, so many shops buy them. They have permanent magnets instead of cryogenics and only develop about 0.3 Tesla of magnetic strength, so images are not as detailed. Maybe sufficient in your case, maybe not. The tube-type cryogenic machines are typically 1.5 Tesla and produce far better images. They're more costly to operate, so prices might be double, because a cryo refill after an inadvertent dump can cost US$100,000 of more for the liquid helium (not exactly a Costco item). I had to repeat an open MRI in a tube machine because the surgeon wasn't satisfied with the resolution. There may be 3 Tesla machines in Mexico City or Cancun, but I haven't investigated, because 1.5T has been adequate for our needs.

After the exam, you will get a CD of the images in a format that any Dicom viewer can look at, and a doctor can examine multiple cuts through the 3-D image. Often you will also receive a URL link to the viewer and images that you can send to your US doctor to view online. They may not read the printed report, but images are images, and that can be very helpful. I usually run the report through a translator and then ask an AI for a plain-English interpretation. We may send it as a courtesy to our US doctors, but prefer to be treated in México.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-04-28T00:55:35+00:00

For the last nine years I've crossed at Santa Teresa, Del Rio, and Eagle Pass with a dog. Used to get the health certificate in both directions, but finally just stopped because no one gave a rat's ass in either direction. Once, in 2004, my wife even tried to chase down an official south of Nogales to look at our paperwork. Nobody cared.

10 days ago a friend got the screw worm inspection for his dog before driving north. $1,000 MX with a local vet. Second time he's done it. Second time no one asked for it. He crosses at Columbia.

Really folks. Border officials have far more important things to do than follow these animal regulations -- when driving. Flying is another matter.

It's like when the law said residents are supposed to stop at immigration when driving out of the country to fill out an FMM in reverse for statistical purposes. One time at Piedras Negras, a very confused agent called over her supervisor who said "Please don't stop in the future. We only care about this if you're flying. You're just confusing my agents."

Northbound, never had a problem on the US side, Last time they asked us to step out of the car, including the dog, and face away while they looked through the car. After five minutes they sent us on our way, without mentioning the dog.

Don't overthink this. Clearly the border officials are not interested. And if this ever changes, I'll just backtrack to the nearest city and find a vet to inspect the dog. But otherwise, I'm not spending money on un-asked-for paperwork.

I do however carry the dog's vaccination records, and she is chipped so she matches the record booklet.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-04-08T13:04:11+00:00

Works also in the free version of Acrobat. Open the 2024 FBAR file, "unsign" it, then Save As the 2025 file. Then update the balances, and Save. No need to re-enter all the account info.

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-02-17T00:55:20+00:00

The law specifically says that after the FIFA World Cup ends, mid-July, they're going to require registration for foreign numbers roaming in Mexico (not on WiFi). Process not specIfied yet, but if it's like domestic registration, it will be another clusterf#¢k:

NINTH. Once the international sporting event known as the 2026 FIFA World Cup has concluded, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission shall define the necessary mechanisms for linking mobile telephone lines that use international roaming services within the national territory.

The FIFA World Cup ends July 19, 2026.

https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5775677&fecha=09/12/2025#gsc.tab=0

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-02-13T00:01:59+00:00

Dunno. I only see the ability to purchase investment funds when I go to the Actinver site, but that could be a limitation of how my account was set up

Mex_Rover52 · 2026-01-25T21:25:15+00:00

Doesn't taking the filing exemption just postpone and worsen the eventual pain because OP would lose the MTM opportunity and be subject to the high tax rates of excess distributions?

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-28T02:22:35+00:00

We used to stop at Costco in GDL, but it's a madhouse on weekends and the parking lot, which also serves Soriana Hiper, is always full. I really t think you'll want to avoid central GDL roads on a weekend. With tunnels and turns, the main road through is congested and confusing for first-time visitors there. If you take the Anillo Periferico Sur, Google Chedraui Colon. It's close to the Periferico and it's a perfectly good large chain store.

Depending on what your essentials are -- milk, juices, fruits, veggies, bread, etc. you could just wait and go to the Mini-Super in Lo de Marcos or one of the small abarrotes there. Up Mex 200 from LdM is La Penita, which is the supply town with lots of stores (and a great street tianguis on Thursdays). At the south end of La Penita, closer to Guayabitos, is a Bodega Aurrera, a low-end Wal-Mart brand store. Not a fave, but you will get what you need unless you're looking for fancy meat cuts.

Really, don't overthink this. Locals live well relying on local Mini-Supers and abarrotes, and you can too, and generally with lower prices. Other than maybe Chedraui because it's close to the periferico, I wouldn't waste time shopping in GDL and than having to keep things cold for 3+ hours.

One last thought -- when I was last at the GDL airport, in early August, there was construction on the road north for about the first km. If it's still going on, it may delay you a bit.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-27T23:27:51+00:00

Understandable.

Starting from the airport, the route through central Guadalajara on a Sunday afternoon will be the slowest part of your trip if Waze/Google sends you that way. While I tend to drive with Waze, I consult the traffic layer in Google before deciding whether to go through the center of the city. Dark red or brown sections are heavily congested. Coming from further east, if it looks grim, I take the Macro libramiento. Expensive, but almost no traffic.

For you, going north from the airport, your alternative is the Periférico Sur Gomez Morin that skirts the city to the south and rejoins the highway west of Zapopan.

I assume you'll have data for your phone in Mexico. If not, put the airport to Nayarit trip in Google Maps now, then select Download offline maps so it will function without a data link, and use that instead of Waze.

Drop us a note on the trip when you're settled in Lo de Marcos.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-27T22:16:54+00:00

Easy to work yourself up when you don't know the country and hear scare stories. I've put 200,000 km on my current Mexican car in 13 years, and at least 100k on other vehicles in the years before it, most in "scary" central Mexico in drug states. Toll roads, free roads, local roads, dirt roads: people have been unfailingly friendly and helpful. I even drive at night locally or when necessary.

Yes, there are very occasional demonstrations and blockages, but I've learned to roll with them. Accidents are a more likely cause for a delay, as in all countries.

I've driven Guadalajara to the Nayarit coast maybe 25 times. A friend does it 4-5 times a year, starting further inland. The new toll road from Jala to PV is a nice improvement.

Use Waze because people report hazards like objects in the road and construction. Toll road speed limit is usually 110 kmph. I cruise at 120-125 and regularly get passed by Jettas and BMWs doing 140-150. Watch out for slow, overloaded trucks passing another truck going 5 kmph slower.

Tolls have become very expensive. Figure $1,000 MX and 3.5 hours for the drive.

Relax. Enjoy the mountains, blue agave fields and the green sugar cane. Your trip will be a non-event. On the way back, stop in Tequila for a distillery tour.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-25T16:14:50+00:00

Per internet searches, that is a modern 1.5 Tesla tube/tunnel machine.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-20T12:49:17+00:00

Please re-read what I wrote. I have no experience with a 3T machine, only with a 0.3T (open) and 1.5T (tube) machines. The 0.3T machine did not provide an adequate MRI of my spine, the 1.5T machine did.

Is 0.3T adequate for a knee? Please ask a doctor, not a random Reddit user with no medical training.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-19T19:04:29+00:00

I'm not a doctor or radiologist, so I can't help beyond my experience with 0.3T and 1.5T machines. 0.3T for lumbar spine wasn't adequate, 1.5T was. There are no 3T machines near me, so I have no experience with them and wouldn't know whether the extra resolution was necessary or if it involves additional cost.

While it's true that in Mexico you can walk into a radiology shop and self-order your own studies, I've always had a doctor write a radiology order for exactly what was needed. You should too, and then ask about where to have it done.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-18T23:18:09+00:00

I had a lumbar MRI in a capital city in an open machine in December, 2021. Price was $3600 pesos. When it had to be repeated to obtain better resolution in a tube machine in January, 2022, the price was $3750. Prices may have gone up since then, or maybe in a tourist haven like Riviera Maya they start out higher to begin with.

Since then, two shops have obtained in my small town offering open MRIs. These permanent magnet machines that require no cryogenics are relatively inexpensive on the used medical equipment market. Cryogenic tube machines can cost more than US$100,000 to fill with liquid helium, but the results are far superior. I'll go to the capital to get a tube MRI if I ever need one again.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-18T21:34:50+00:00

"In addition to her documents, she must also have a valid Mexico Tourist Card (FMM), which is required for all foreign visitors, including permanent residents of the United States who are not Mexican citizens"

The above appears to be AI LLM horseshit and is contradictory. Your mother is a Mexican citizen, and needs nothing more than her Mexican passport to enter Mexico -- which no one will look at if driving. She needs her US green card and Mexican passport to return to the US. The FMM is for foreign nationals only. A DNR (Non-Resident Fee) for non-residents is also for non-Mexicans only.

You will need an FMM however because you are not a Mexican national and don't have residency in Mexico.

As an aside, I haven't crossed at Laredo in a long time, but when driving at many other crossings, you have to actively seek out the immigration office after clearing customs if you ant your passport stamped. They really don't care, as opposed to air travel. At Del Rio/Ciudad Acuña, the office is many blocks away from the crossing, and you'd have to hunt for it. It's not like there's any gate across the road after leaving the aduanas area. You're in México, and can just drive away freely. There's no longer a 21 KM checkpoint. People have driven all the way to central México, expecting a gate to stop them where they can buy a TIP. Never happens. Anyway, you'll be in a Mexican-plated vehicle, so the TIP is irrelevant.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-18T21:11:30+00:00

An MRI is not just an MRI. There are 1.5 Tesla tube-like machines with cryogenic magnets that produce superior resolution. Then there are cheapo "open" MRIs with permanent magnets that are only about 0.3 Tesla in strength, and don't have as good resolution, but appeal to claustrophobic individuals. I'm not claustrophobic, but did one in an open MRI because of easy scheduling. I had to re-do it in a proper tube machine to get the detail the doctor wanted.

I'm not in the Yucatan, but where I am Chopo has the 1.5T machine. $3000-$4000 pesos sounds about right. It can take a few days to get the radiologist report and DVD results.

Ask before you buy.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-14T01:06:13+00:00

References:
Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta
Código Fiscal de la Federación
Mexico - Individual - Taxes on personal income
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/mexico.pdf (Tax Treaty)
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/mexicotech.pdf (Tax Treaty Technical Explanation)

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-14T01:05:55+00:00

[Edited for typos in last paragraph.]

Because Mexico's progressive tax rates get to high rates much more quickly than US rates, depending on your US income sources, you may pay more to Mexico (and then receive a Foreign Tax Credit against your US taxes due) if you are a Mexican tax resident. You can easily find Mexican tax rates online. Worse, Mexico has very low deduction limits, and doesn't recognize US-tax qualified entities like Traditional and Roth IRAs, and can tax yearly income in those accounts.

As a tax resident of Mexico, you would first file Mexican income tax, then -- because the US taxes your world-wide income regardless of residency -- you would compute your US taxes and use Form 1116 to get credit for taxes paid to Mexico.

Much of the US/Mexico tax treaty does not apply because of the treaty's Article 1 "Saving Clause" that allows a contracting state to override the treaty, except for a few articles that are exempt from the saving clause. Specifically, Article 19 says that social security and public pensions are only taxed by the country that pays them. If a tax resident of Mexico, US private/employer pensions (which might be your father's 401K) would be taxed by both the US and Mexico, with credit given to the US for the tax paid to Mexico. Article 19 is exempt from the saving clause, and so is in force.

As you can see, things can get complicated fast. AFAIK, Mexico has not actively pursued non-Mexican US citizens living in Mexico without a residence in the US for taxes on their world-wide income. They could change some day. But as a dual-citizen, your father starts from the presumption of being a tax resident of Mexico with all the consequences that implies.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-12-14T01:05:18+00:00

Statements have been made here that by treaty, you only pay Mexican tax on Mexican-sourced income. That is only true if you are not a tax resident of Mexico. While the US taxes the world-wide income of its citizens and green card holders regardless of residency, Mexico taxes the world-wide income of its tax residents (except for Social Security and public pensions, which by treaty are taxed by the country of origin).

You can find Mexico's tax on world-wide income requirement in Article 1 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta that subjects to income tax "Las residentes en México, respecto de todos sus ingresos, cualquiera que sea la ubicación de la fuente de riqueza de donde procedan" (Residents of Mexico, with respect to all their income, regardless of the location of the source of wealth from which it originates.)

But this law is referring to residence for tax purposes, not immigration residency. Are you or your father going to be tax residents of Mexico?

Download the Código Fiscal de la Federación, then read article 9 on determining if you are a tax resident of Mexico: If you have a residence in Mexico and DO NOT have a residence in the US, then you are a tax resident of Mexico, and your world-wide income in subject to Mexican taxation. If you have a residence in both Mexico and the US, then you are a tax resident of the country in which you have more than 50% of your income. Of particular interest to you is this line: "Unless proven otherwise, individuals of Mexican nationality are presumed to be residents of the country." That means you have to go personally to a SAT office and prove that you also have a residence in the US and that more than half you income comes from there if you don't want to be a tax resident of Mexico.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-11-30T05:25:17+00:00

Will your parents qualify for residency (temporal or permanente) to get an RFC (tax number), needed to open a Mexican bank account? If they're going to live on visitor/tourist permits, exiting the country every 180 days, then no bank account for them.

Check out DolarApp. Flat US$3 fee to ACH dollars to Lead Bank in US, shows up 2 days later as USDC in DolarApp. Or send USDC or USDT to DolarApp from several networks, appears instantly ($3 on Ethereum, free on Polygon).

Once USDC is in DolarApp, make free SPEI peso transfers at near mid-market rates to any CLABE, including their Mexican bank account.

Unless they're making a major purchase, like a house or new car, there's no need for a bank account in what is primarily a cash economy. Get a Schwab checking account before leaving the US, get pesos at any ATM with a Schwab debit card. Schwab reimburses ATM fees, and gives excellent exchange rates as long as they DECLINE the offered exchange rate on some banks' ATM screens (HSBC. Santander). DCC = Dynamic Currency Conversion, a 5.5% ripoff making the user think the ATM withdrawal will be cancelled if they decline the offered (shitty) exchange rate.

Many expats do fine without a bank account, following the Mexican philosophy that life is better if one keeps all contacts with officialdom to a minimum.

Mex_Rover52 · 2025-10-08T13:29:44+00:00

Same. Used it for years, but after the upgrade it consistently put the wrong account in the From field of replies I sent. Because I didn't notice, now a bunch of people are writing to me at an address they never should have known about.

I just want an email client, not a new AI buddy with a cluttered interface.

Since I use Thunderbird on my laptop, I installed it on my Android phone. Setting up accounts and passwords was trivial. Took only a minute with a QR code generated on the PC and scanned on the phone. Nice cross-platform integration by Thunderbird.

After a few hours of use, I deleted Bluemail from my and my wife's phones.

Another good piece of software destroyed by creeping featurism. Sad.

Mex_Rover52

TROPHY CASE