Playas de Rosarito closing costs and ISAI (2026)

ISAI (Impuesto sobre Adquisición de Inmuebles) is the tax a buyer pays to the municipality when acquiring real estate. It is calculated on the highest of the price, the valor catastral (the value on file at the municipal catastro) and the avalúo (appraisal), and the notary usually calculates it and pays it from funds the buyer gives the notary at closing.

The Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Playas de Rosarito for 2026, Article 9, sets eight brackets. Each bracket has a floor, a fixed amount and a marginal rate. The fixed amount is exactly the tax owed on everything below the floor, so the scale is fully cumulative: you never pay the higher rate on the whole price, only on the part that falls inside the top bracket you reach.

The formula is: ISAI = (base − floor of your bracket) × marginal rate + fixed amount. The dollar column is a rough guide at 18.50 MXN per USD; the law works in pesos.

Here is the arithmetic for a USD 200,000 home (MXN 3,700,000), which lands in bracket 5: (3,700,000 − 2,600,000) × 3.5% + 62,500 = MXN 101,000, or 2.73% of the price. At USD 350,000 the base is in bracket 7; from USD 500,000 up it is in bracket 8, where every peso above MXN 6.8 million is taxed at 5%.

The total column adds the notary and IVA, registry fees, appraisal, SRE permit, trustee-bank setup and the first annual bank fee for a foreign buyer using a fideicomiso. All at 18.50 MXN per USD, buyer's side, excluding legal fees.

This is the full buyer's estimate for a USD 350,000 purchase (MXN 6,475,000) through a new fideicomiso with BIM (Banco Inmobiliario Mexicano) as trustee, calculated by the firm's closing calculator from the official 2026 tables. Dollar amounts are at 18.50 MXN per USD and rounded; lines may not add to the exact total because of rounding.

The same USD 350,000 home costs less to close in two situations. Both still pay the full ISAI: a purchase and a cesión de derechos are both taxable acquisitions.

Predial is the annual property tax, paid to the municipality on the catastral value. It is not a closing cost, but it is the first bill you receive as an owner and an unpaid balance can follow the property. Playas de Rosarito approved predial increases of up to 200% for 2026, as reported by Zeta Tijuana in December 2025. The increase does not hit every property the same way.

What to do: if you already own in Rosarito, check your 2026 predial statement rather than budgeting from last year's receipt. If you are buying, ask the seller for the 2026 receipt before closing and have the notary confirm the account has no balance. The catastral value on that statement is also one of the three figures used for ISAI.

A Rosarito purchase is signed before a notario público of Baja California. The notary drafts the escritura, requests the lien certificate from the RPPC, calculates ISAI on the right base, pays the taxes from the funds the buyer provides and files the deed. Notaries must charge under the state Arancel de Notarios, but total quotes (which can include other acts, certificates and expenses) and turnaround still differ, so choose one with the firm early. We can help you compare notaries for your type of property and timeline.

Before the notary can sign, the paperwork has to be in place:

Galarza Legal's main office is in Rosarito, at Blvd. Popotla 3009, Playa Encantada. Lic. Pati Claudia Galarza (Cédula Profesional 15176510) and her bilingual team review the title and contract, coordinate the notary, the SRE permit and the trustee bank, and go through the escritura with you before you sign. You pay the notary, the bank and the government directly; the firm does not hold or pass on client funds.

If a purchase ends in a dispute, Rosarito's courts apply the new national civil and family procedure code (CNPCF, oral trials) to cases filed since 1 March 2026 (state Congress declaratoria, Periódico Oficial, 30 January 2026). Call +1 619-568-2424, email info@galarza.mx or book a consultation.