Mexico's personal exemption (franquicia) — the definitive 2026 guide

Published April 18, 2026 · MyPackages

Every time you bring goods south into Mexico — whether from the US or coming off a flight — you're subject to Mexico's personal exemption, known in Spanish as the franquicia. Understand it once, and you'll spend the rest of your cross-border life making rational decisions about what to buy, when to cross, and when to bother with a broker. Misunderstand it, and you'll either overpay, or worse, get tangled in a secondary inspection.

The baseline amounts

• $300 USD per person per entry, arriving by land (including vehicle at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Mexicali, etc.).
• $500 USD per person per entry, arriving by air or sea.

These are 2026 figures and have been stable for several years. The franquicia is per person, and it applies to merchandise you are importing into Mexico for personal use — not to your personal luggage, your laptop you brought from home, or used clothing you're wearing.

Programa Paisano — the seasonal doubling

Three times a year, Mexico runs Programa Paisano, aimed at making it easier for Mexicans abroad to return with gifts. During these windows, the franquicia effectively doubles for many travelers:

• Easter week (Semana Santa, including Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday).
• Summer (exact dates published annually — typically mid-July to mid-August).
• Winter (December 1 through January 10).

During Paisano you can typically bring $600 USD by land or $1,000 USD by air per person. The seasonal dates are published each year on the official Programa Paisano page — always confirm before you rely on it.

Family combining

Family members traveling together in the same vehicle can combine their individual franquicias. Two adults = $600 land, $1,000 air. Two adults and two kids = $1,200 land, $2,000 air. This is a legitimate, intended use of the exemption — customs officers expect it.

What combining does not do: it doesn't allow you to hide one expensive item under the combined shield. If one person is bringing in a $900 item, that still needs to be reconciled against one person's exemption, not spread across four.

Which crossings actually enforce

All crossings enforce, but enforcement style varies. Baja crossings — San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Mexicali — rely primarily on the red-light/green-light random inspection: most crossings are waved through; when the red light hits, inspection is thorough. San Luis Rio Colorado and smaller crossings tend to be lighter. Paisano-season southbound enforcement is dramatically more visible — more officers, more inspections — and, confusingly, more forgiving given the higher exemption.

Our advice: declare whenever you're above your exemption, always. "Gambling" on the green light and getting caught with undeclared goods escalates fast into fines that dwarf the pago simplificado.

What counts toward the total

Goods you did not leave Mexico with and are now bringing in count toward the franquicia. New sealed electronics, new clothing with tags, kitchen gadgets, tools, toys, sporting goods, appliances, etc. What does not count:

• Your personal luggage (clothes, toiletries, the laptop you left with).
• Up to 20 kg of used clothing.
• Medicines with a prescription for personal use.
• Up to 6 liters of wine/liquor combined (adults).
• A limited allowance of tobacco (check current limits).

Declaring above the limit

If you're over, pull into the "Algo que Declarar" lane and tell the officer what you have, with receipts. For personal-use household goods between your franquicia and $3,000 USD, the standard path is pago simplificado: 19% on the excess. You'll pay at a window, get a receipt, and be on your way. Above $3,000 single-item value, or for commercial quantities, you'll need an agente aduanal and a formal import process (pedimento).

Practical tips

1. Keep receipts together in a clear folder on top of the load — not buried in the trunk.
2. Know your combined per-vehicle total before you cross.
3. During Paisano, verify the current dates on the official Programa Paisano site — don't trust blog posts (including this one) for season dates years from now.
4. If you're over, declare; don't argue value.

Where MyPackages fits in

We're the US-side receiving address. Our San Ysidro warehouse takes your Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco.com orders so you can cross with your loaded vehicle rather than a cart full of nothing. The franquicia then does exactly what it's meant to do — give you a few hundred dollars of duty-free headroom on each trip.