Bienes Raíces en Playa Del Carmen y Tulum Mexico | Predial in Quintana Roo: What It Is & How to Pay

Property Tax (Predial) in Quintana Roo: What It Is, How to Pay It, and Why Early-Year Payment Matters

Owning real estate in Quintana Roo comes with one recurring responsibility that’s easy to manage—but important to understand: property tax, known in Mexico as “impuesto predial.” Whether you live here full-time or manage your property from abroad, keeping predial current helps avoid headaches during rentals, owner updates, and—especially—future sales.

This guide explains what predial is, who collects it, how and where to pay, what it funds, why early-year payment is usually the smartest move, and why you typically can’t pay next year’s predial before the new year begins.

1) What is “predial,” and who collects it?

Predial is a municipal tax linked to your property’s record in the local tax roll (often tied to your cadastral account / “clave catastral”). In Quintana Roo, predial is collected by the municipality where the property is located (for example: Playa del Carmen/Solidaridad, Cancún/Benito Juárez, etc.), not by a federal agency.

2) Where does predial money go?

Predial is one of the main sources of local revenue used to support municipal services and infrastructure—the everyday backbone of a city: public services, maintenance, local works, and administrative operations. Even if you don’t use your property year-round, predial contributes to the environment that protects its value: roads, public services, and municipal capacity.

3) How to pay predial in Quintana Roo (in-person and online)

In many Quintana Roo municipalities, you generally have two routes:

A) In-person payment (most straightforward)

You can pay at municipal treasury offices and authorized collection points. This tends to be the cleanest path when you need certainty on the official receipt and record status.

B) Online payment (convenient—but understand the limitation)

Some municipalities provide online platforms to consult and pay predial using your cadastral information. For example, Playa del Carmen (Solidaridad) explicitly lists access to a digital platform for predial.

Important clarification (especially for foreign owners):

Paying predial—whether online or in person—does not automatically update the property’s registered owner name in the cadastral system. Owner name updates (and other cadastral record changes) are handled through a separate Catastro procedure (e.g., “Change of Owner” / “Cambio de Propietario”). Playa del Carmen publishes a dedicated “Change of Owner” process with legal basis under Quintana Roo’s cadastral framework.

So: online payment can be useful for staying current, but it’s not the best method if your goal is to ensure the property record is fully “clean” and updated to the current owner, because that requires a Catastro update.

Practical tip: If you pay from abroad (or online) and later need a cadastral name update, you may still need to visit (or appoint representation for) Catastro with the required documentation. Playa del Carmen’s own Catastro-related procedures list requirements that typically include a current predial receipt among the documents.

4) Why paying predial early in the year is often the smartest choice

Most municipalities incentivize early payment through discount programs (“pronto pago”) during the first months of the year. In Playa del Carmen, the municipality publicly announced early-payment discounts for Predial 2026, including up to 25% during the first half of January, followed by lower discount tiers later in January and February.

Even if your municipality’s discount calendar differs, the principle in Quintana Roo is consistent:

• Paying early can reduce your out-of-pocket cost.

• It keeps your file current for rentals, administrative needs, and future transactions.

• It avoids last-minute issues (missing cadastral key, older receipts, or record mismatches).

5) Why you generally can’t pay “next year’s predial” before the year starts

Owners often ask: “Can I prepay next year’s predial in December?” In practice, the answer is usually no. The new year’s predial is tied to the new fiscal exercise and the municipality’s updated billing/administrative cycle—so the payment system and receipts typically activate once the new year begins.

Best practice: Plan to pay early in January and—if you’re managing from abroad—make sure you also plan (separately) for any Catastro updates you may need.