Business Lodging with a Tax Invoice in Mexico City: How to Request It

The trip gets approved, the stay goes well, and three weeks later accounting asks for the receipt. What turns up is a document in English, in the traveler's name, with no tax ID and no tax regime. It can't be deducted, and someone ends up absorbing a company expense.

With short-stay lodging this happens often, and almost always for the same reason: the booking went through a platform where the receipt comes from the platform, for its intermediary service, rather than from the property for the night.

What your company needs to deduct lodging in Mexico

A Mexican tax invoice (CFDI) in the company's name, with these details exactly as they appear on its tax status certificate:

• Tax ID (RFC) and legal name
• Tax regime
• Postal code of the registered tax address
• CFDI use, which for travel expenses is usually "general expenses"

And one detail people forget: cash payments can't be deducted. Card or bank transfer, and it should match whoever is being invoiced.

Book direct and the invoice comes sooner

We issue the invoice whichever way you booked: if you came through Airbnb, Booking or Vrbo, we invoice you too. What changes is when.

Booking direct, the invoice is issued as soon as we receive payment, so you can close out the expense before the trip even starts. When the booking comes through a platform, we have to wait for the intermediary's payout to be confirmed, and the invoice goes out the day after check-in.

On a business trip that's the difference between filing the expense in the month it was approved and chasing it afterwards.

What we need, and how long it takes

Just the tax details above, which you can send us through our invoicing form. It works the same for individuals and companies, including foreign ones. One thing people often miss: under Mexican tax rules the invoice has to be issued within the same month as the payment, so it's best to send your details when you book rather than when you get back.

For longer stays: corporate housing

For projects, relocations or rotating teams, the monthly rate comes in well below a hotel and is invoiced the same way. A whole apartment with a kitchen and a washer changes the economics of a multi-week stay, and for the company it's one invoice a month instead of twenty separate nights.

If it's your first time bringing someone to the city, Corporate Housing in Mexico City explains how to choose an area and what to expect from each. And for an arrangement covering several people through the year, see our corporate housing page.

Before you book, check these

• Have the company's up-to-date tax status certificate at hand
• Pay from a company account or card
• Make sure the traveler's name is on the booking, for guest registration
• Check the stay fits your company's travel expense policy

This guide explains our invoicing process; it isn't a substitute for your accountant's advice, since deductibility depends on each company's tax situation.