Booking commission in Mexico: VAT, withholding and invoices for your hotel

What Booking charges in Mexico

Booking doesn't publish a rate for Mexico. The commission is a set percentage of the booking total, depending on the country, property type and signed agreement; yours is in the extranet. Worldwide, the most common commission is around 15%.

It's charged on the rate and extra fees, such as cleaning or cancellation, after check-out, and invoiced monthly. It isn't charged on local taxes such as the lodging tax. Preferred Partner adds a percentage on top of the base commission, and Payments by Booking charges a per-booking fee that depends on the property's location.

• How much commission Booking charges, and what gets added →

16% VAT on the commission

Booking.com B.V. has been registered with SAT as a foreign digital services provider since November 2020, RFC BBV9706235T7. So it adds 16% VAT to its commission: the monthly invoice total includes the commission and the VAT, and Booking pays it to SAT.

If you're registered for VAT, you can credit it as input VAT. If not, it's a cost: a 15% commission with 16% VAT on top costs 17.4%. Booking sends monthly commission invoices, which show your RFC only if you entered it in the extranet, and can't correct them after issuing.

Withholding with Payments by Booking

When the guest pays through Booking, Booking withholds income tax and VAT on the total collected, excluding lodging tax and VAT. With an individual RFC it withholds 8% VAT and 4% income tax. Since the 2026 Revenue Law, companies too: 8% VAT and 2.5% income tax for check-outs from 1 February 2026.

With no RFC or invalid tax details, withholding rises to 16% VAT and 20% income tax, whatever you actually owe. If the payout goes to an account outside Mexico, VAT withheld is 16%: to avoid it, enter a CLABE in the extranet. In the border zone Booking can't withhold at 8%: you claim the difference back from SAT.

If you're paid by bank transfer, withholding is deducted from the payout. If you're paid by virtual card, it isn't: you have to pay Booking the amount shown on the withholding CFDI.

Provisional or final payment

For most, withholding is a provisional payment, deducted in your return. Individuals with income up to MXN 300,000 a year can opt for the final-payment scheme: the 4% withholding is the final tax, but they lose deductions and the VAT credit on lodging, and must stay in it for five years.

We're not accountants. This is for reaching your accountant with the right questions: which scheme suits you, whether your RFC is correctly entered in the extranet and how you're crediting the VAT on the commission.

What reaches you from a booking

An example for an individual with RFC, a MXN 10,000 booking including VAT, paid through Booking at 15% commission: the commission is 1,500 and its VAT 240. On the base without VAT, about 8,621, Booking withholds 345 income tax and 690 VAT. About 7,225 reaches you, before lodging tax and the Payments by Booking fee.

Withholding isn't money lost, because it's deducted in your returns. The commission and, if you don't credit it, its VAT are.

• Booking commission calculator →

The lodging tax

The lodging tax (impuesto sobre hospedaje) is set by each state and, according to Booking, ranges from 2 to 6%. It's the property's obligation: Booking's Mexico page doesn't say it collects it for you. In Mexico City it's 3.5% in general and 5% for stays booked through platforms.

Airbnb, by contrast, withholds and pays the lodging tax in 19 states since adding Michoacán in December 2024. If you sell on both, check who's paying what.

You issue the guest's invoice

Booking doesn't generate guest invoices. The property issues the invoice for the full stay at check-out, even if Booking collected the payment, and Booking can't appear as the seller. In Mexico, that's a CFDI under your RFC.

Business travellers request it with the “Request invoice” button, which reaches you as a message. Booking labels properties that always send it with “Easy invoice”.

What changed in 2026

Since 1 April 2026, article 30-B of the Federal Tax Code requires digital platforms to give SAT online, real-time access to their tax information. Bookings that go through Booking are visible to SAT.

The other side: a direct booking through your website has no commission, no VAT on the commission and no platform withholding. You pay your taxes all the same, but the 15 commission points stay with the hotel.

• Alternatives to Booking for selling direct →
• Booking vs. Airbnb commission →
• Hotel websites: free diagnosis →