Reform to the Federal Tax Code to eliminate the strict order of the means to guarantee tax credits

Introduction

At the end of 2025, several reforms were made to the Federal Tax Code, seeking to provide the Tax Administration Service with greater mechanisms and tools to combat the simulation of operations and tax evasion, as well as to have greater control over compliance with taxpayers' obligations; the above, aligned with the public policy of increasing collection and limiting taxpayers' use of legal means to defer the payment of taxes.

Among these reforms, which came into effect on January 1, 2026, modifications to the rules of the appeal for reconsideration were included, and a strict and mandatory priority was established regarding the means to guarantee tax credits.

Before the aforementioned reforms, the Federal Tax Code suspended the obligation to provide a guarantee simply upon filing an appeal for reconsideration, and this obligation had to be fulfilled once the appeal was resolved. With the reforms, this possibility was eliminated, and now the tax credit must be guaranteed even if an appeal for reconsideration is filed.

Furthermore, prior to 2026, Article 141 of the Tax Code itself established a list of available means to guarantee tax credits, and the taxpayer chose the one that best suited their situation, including surety bonds and deposit certificates. As a result of the reform and the strict order established for these means of guaranteeing tax credits, the taxpayer must now use deposit certificates as the first option.

This modification has significant economic effects, since the cost of the surety bond amounts to approximately 6% of the tax credit amount, while to obtain the deposit slip, the taxpayer must disburse an amount equivalent to the total amount of the tax credit.

In summary, as of January 1, 2026, taxpayers must present a deposit slip to guarantee the tax credit, even if they file an appeal against it.

Initiative to reform article 141 of the Federal Tax Code

On March 19, 2026, President Sheinbaum presented a bill to the Chamber of Deputies to amend Article 141 of the Federal Tax Code. The proposed amendment would allow taxpayers to choose the guarantee method that best suits their circumstances; in other words, it would eliminate the strict priority requirement that tax credits be secured with a bank deposit certificate.

Specifically, the initiative proposes “Leveraging the experience of the Mexican tax system and restoring the versatility of the catalog of guarantee options, freely chosen by the taxpayer, is crucial. Indeed, the diverse economic profiles of taxpayers indicate that individuals should be allowed to guarantee their debt in the way that is most accessible to them given their particular circumstances.Therefore, the initiative intends that the catalog of means to guaranteeremain flexible and without a mandatory order".

Furthermore, the initiative proposes to include a transitional article that would allow those who guaranteed a tax credit by means of a deposit slip in compliance with the strict order in force from January 1, 2026, to request the substitution of the guarantee from the tax authority within 30 days after the reform comes into force.

This initiative was discussed and approved by the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies on March 25, 2026, and will therefore be sent to the Senate for further discussion and approval.

It is important to note that the reform does not change the requirement that taxpayers must guarantee the tax credit even when they file an appeal; however, allowing them to choose the means of guaranteeing, as was the case before January 1, 2026, is extremely beneficial in economic terms.

Finally, considering that the initiatives presented by President Sheinbaum to Congress usually do not receive much opposition, it is most likely that the proposed reform will be approved, now by the Senate.