How to cross a 65" TV into Mexico legally

Published April 18, 2026 · MyPackages

A 65-inch TV is the single most common big-ticket item our Baja customers buy in the US and bring south. It is also the item that causes the most anxiety at the border, almost always unnecessarily. Here's what actually matters, and what doesn't.

The dimensions: will it even fit in your car?

Most 65" TV boxes are around 58 x 36 x 6 inches (147 x 91 x 15 cm) for OLEDs, closer to 60 x 37 x 10 inches for cheaper LED/LCDs. That's bigger than the cargo area of a standard sedan trunk but it will lay flat in the back of any SUV with the rear seats folded, a pickup bed (with the tailgate down and the box overhanging a few inches, strapped down), or a minivan. Measure your specific vehicle before you commit — a 60" cargo length is the right threshold.

The franquicia math — and why size is irrelevant

Mexico's personal exemption ("franquicia") at a land crossing is $300 USD in merchandise per person, per trip, doubled during Programa Paisano dates. It is value-based, not size-based. Customs at the southbound inspection cares about the declared value of the goods you're bringing into Mexico — not how big the box is.

So the math looks like this. A Vizio 65" at $448 exceeds a single person's $300 franquicia by $148. A high-end Sony 65" OLED at $1,800 exceeds by $1,500. The over-franquicia portion is what you may owe duties on, not the whole TV.

SAT "pago simplificado" — the 19% path

For regular travelers bringing household goods, the easiest legal path above the franquicia is SAT's pago simplificado: a flat 19% duty on the excess value, paid at the crossing. On that $448 Vizio, if you're alone and have no other exemptions to apply, you'd owe 19% of $148, or about $28 USD. On the $1,800 Sony, 19% of $1,500 = $285. That's the worst case. It's predictable, it's quick, and the process takes 10–20 minutes in the "Algo que Declarar" lane.

Two people crossing together have a combined $600 franquicia, which covers most mid-range TVs entirely. Family members under the same roof can combine exemptions.

When you actually need an agente aduanal

A customs broker (agente aduanal) is required when:

The goods are clearly commercial quantity (you're bringing in 10 TVs for resale — not one for your living room).
Single-item value exceeds $3,000 USD and you want a formal import rather than a simplified payment (for warranty, invoice, or business-asset reasons).
You need an invoice with a Mexican RFC for a business.

For a single 65" TV you're putting in your own living room, a broker is not required and is usually a waste of money.

Receipts — preserve them

Bring the original US receipt, and a printed copy. If your TV came via Amazon, print the order confirmation and the invoice (Amazon hides it in "Your Orders → Invoice"). At the red light, if you get pulled into secondary, you want the value to be documented, not guessed. Customs officers have wide discretion to assess a value if you can't show paperwork — and they will not assess it in your favor.

Packing the TV in your vehicle

Modern flat panels are surprisingly fragile — the glass substrate cracks under point pressure even inside the foam. Rules:

Lay it flat, screen-up, on a clean cargo floor. Never stand it on the long edge for the drive.
Do not stack anything on top of it — no grocery bags, no duffel, nothing.
Strap the box down with soft straps or ratchet straps with pads, just enough to keep it from sliding. Over-tightening will flex the center.
If the box has to overhang your tailgate, tie a red flag and confirm your state's law on overhang length.

At the crossing

Declare. Always. The 10 seconds you save by gambling is not worth the hours you'll spend if secondary finds an undeclared big-ticket item. Pull into "Algo que Declarar," show your receipt, pay the pago simplificado if applicable, get your receipt, leave. It's a non-event when you do it right.

Where MyPackages fits in

We receive your TV at our San Ysidro warehouse, photograph it, hold it up to 6 days free, and hand it off when you arrive. You handle the crossing — we handle the US side so Best Buy, Amazon, Costco.com, and Walmart will actually ship it.