Guide · Mexico e-invoicing · verified October 16, 2026
Mexico e-invoicing requirements: CFDI 4.0 for US companies
If your company sells, ships or pays inside Mexico, sooner or later someone asks for a factura and your ERP cannot produce one. This guide explains what Mexico's electronic invoice is, what the official rules say about who issues it and what it contains, and the two complements that trip up US companies most: payment complements and Carta Porte. Written by engineers who build CFDI integrations, from the SAT's official documents.
Notice: General information, not legal or tax advice; check with your attorney or accountant. Verified on . If something is out of date, tell us at [email protected].
Mexico's tax code requires taxpayers to issue electronic invoices called CFDI: XML documents in the SAT's current format (4.0), sealed by the issuer and stamped by an authorized provider before they are valid. A PDF is only a representation. Deferred payments use a payment complement, transported goods use Carta Porte, and cancellations carry a reason code.
What is a CFDI, and what is a factura?
In Mexico an invoice is not a document you print; it is an XML file called a Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet, or CFDI, generated in the format the tax authority (the SAT) publishes, sealed with the issuer's digital certificate and then stamped by a Proveedor Autorizado de Certificación (PAC), a private company authorized by the SAT to validate and certify invoices (Federal Tax Code, CFF, articles 29 and 29-A). The PDF your customer receives is the printed representation of that XML.
“Factura” is the everyday word for the CFDI of type income (ingreso). When a Mexican customer says they will not pay until they have the factura, they mean the stamped XML with their tax data on it. The current version of the standard is CFDI 4.0, described in the SAT's Annex 20.
| CFDI type | When it is issued | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Income (ingreso) | Every sale of goods or services | Receiver data must match the SAT's records exactly or the stamp is rejected |
| Payment complement (complemento de pago) | When an invoice was issued with payment method PPD (paid in installments or deferred) and a payment is received | Forgotten entirely, or issued late |
| Credit note (egreso) | Discounts, returns and rebates after an invoice | Used in place of a cancellation and replacement when the original invoice had wrong data |
| Income or transfer CFDI with Carta Porte | Goods transported by road, rail, air or sea inside Mexico: income when a carrier bills the freight, transfer when a company moves its own goods | Carrier and shipper each assume the other is issuing it |
| Payroll (nómina) | Every salary payment to employees in Mexico | Not an invoice at all to a US accountant, but a CFDI to the SAT |
Who issues CFDI?
Article 29 of the Federal Tax Code says that when the tax laws require a receipt for the acts or activities taxpayers carry out, they must issue it as a CFDI, through the SAT's system and a PAC (text consulted on October 16, 2026). In practice the invoices are issued under a Mexican tax ID (RFC) by the entity that holds it, such as a subsidiary, branch or distributor in Mexico; a company with Mexican suppliers will also receive CFDI from them.
Whether a particular transaction must be invoiced in Mexico, under which entity and with which tax treatment is a question for your Mexican accountant, not for a software guide. What the software has to do once the accountant has decided is the subject of the rest of this guide.
What fields does a CFDI 4.0 require?
CFDI 4.0 tightened the receiver data compared with earlier versions, which is why so many invoices issued from US systems are rejected. According to Annex 20, the receiver node carries the RFC, the name or legal name as registered in the RFC, the postal code of the tax domicile, the tax regime and the intended use of the invoice (uso de CFDI), with codes from SAT catalogs. For the issuer: RFC, name and regime, plus the place of issue. Each line item carries a product or service code from the SAT's catalog and a unit code, plus the tax breakdown.
Annex 20 also sets the generic values for foreign customers without a Mexican RFC: RFC XEXX010101000, tax regime 616 (no tax obligations) and use S01 (no tax effects); their country of residence and foreign tax ID are required when the foreign-trade complement applies. Sales to the general public use the generic RFC XAXX010101000 and can be grouped into a global invoice. Getting these right is a mapping exercise between your ERP's customer master and the SAT's catalogs, and the single most useful thing a CFDI integration does is validate the receiver's data before trying to stamp.
| Field | What it is | Where US systems get it wrong |
|---|---|---|
| RFC | The receiver's Mexican tax ID | Typos, or using a generic RFC for a registered customer |
| Legal name | As it appears on the customer's tax certificate (constancia de situación fiscal), which for companies omits the corporate suffix such as 'S.A. de C.V.' | ERP stores the commercial name or includes the corporate suffix |
| Tax domicile postal code | The postal code on the receiver's SAT registration | Shipping or billing address postal code used instead |
| Tax regime | SAT catalog code for the receiver's regime | Missing; not stored in the ERP at all |
| Use of CFDI | SAT catalog code for what the receiver will use the invoice for | Defaulted to a code that does not match the regime |
What is a payment complement, and when is it due?
When an invoice is issued with payment method PPD (payment in installments or deferred), Annex 20 says an additional CFDI with the “Complemento para recepción de pagos” is issued for the payments received, linked to the original invoice. Rule 2.7.1.32 of the SAT's Miscellaneous Tax Resolution for 2026 says that CFDI must be issued no later than the fifth calendar day of the month following the month of the payment or payments received, and allows one per payment or one per month for all payments from the same receiver (text published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on December 28, 2025, consulted on October 16, 2026). It is the complement most often forgotten by companies whose billing system was not built for Mexico.
Operationally, the design we use is to generate the complement from the payment event in your system, matched to the open invoice, instead of relying on someone to remember at month end. How the rule applies to your transactions is for your accountant to confirm.
What is Carta Porte and does it apply to my shipments?
Carta Porte is a complement to the CFDI that describes the goods being transported inside Mexico, the route, the vehicle and the operator. The SAT's materials apply it to goods moved by road, rail, air or sea within national territory: a carrier that bills the freight issues an income CFDI with the complement, and a company moving its own goods issues a transfer CFDI with it. For US companies it appears when freight crosses the border and continues inside Mexico to a plant or a distribution center, or moves between Mexican sites.
The data it needs (goods description with SAT codes, weights, origin and destination, vehicle and driver details) usually lives in a transportation system, not in the ERP, which is why Carta Porte is an integration problem as much as a tax one. The SAT publishes the current version of the complement and its filling guide, linked in the sources; your carrier and your accountant confirm who issues it on each lane.
How are CFDI cancelled and corrected?
A CFDI cannot simply be deleted. Cancellation is a request to the SAT with a reason code from a short catalog. Article 29-A of the Federal Tax Code says a CFDI may be cancelled no later than the month in which the issuer's annual return for that year is due, provided the receiver accepts the cancellation; the exceptions to acceptance are set in the SAT's annual rules. When the original had an error, Annex 20 uses reason 01: a replacement invoice is issued and linked to the cancelled one. Discounts, returns and rebates after the fact are documented with a credit note (egreso).
For a US company the consequence is that your billing system needs a cancellation workflow that captures the reason, tracks receiver acceptance and links the replacement, and that your month-end reconciliation compares what your ERP thinks was invoiced with what the SAT has stamped, cancelled and replaced. We build that reconciliation as part of our CFDI integrations; see the Mexico e-invoicing service page.
How do US ERPs and platforms produce CFDI?
Not natively. SAP, NetSuite, Dynamics and most e-commerce platforms need a localization layer that maps the transaction to CFDI 4.0, validates the receiver against SAT catalogs, sends the XML to a PAC for stamping, stores the stamped XML and PDF, delivers them to the customer and exports them by month for the accountant. Some ERPs sell that layer as a module; many companies build it or have it built, because the module stops at the first custom field.
We build that layer. Guiadalajara’s CFDI 4.0 stamping is built and tested with real stamps in its test environment, through the same kind of PAC connection we build for clients, and the integration pattern is the one described on the systems integration page: official APIs, retries, logging and a reconciliation report. The architecture review is where we look at your ERP, your Mexican entity's setup and your transaction types before quoting anything.
Mexico e-invoicing readiness checklist for a US company (each item to be confirmed with your Mexican accountant)
- Which entity issues CFDI: the Mexican subsidiary, branch or distributor with an RFC
- Digital seal certificate (CSD) for that entity, and a PAC contract for stamping
- Customer master with RFC, exact SAT legal name, tax domicile postal code, regime and use of CFDI for every Mexican customer
- Product and service codes and unit codes from the SAT catalogs mapped to your items
- Rule for foreign customers (generic RFC XEXX010101000, regime 616, use S01) and for general-public sales
- Payment complement generated from the payment event and matched to the open invoice
- Carta Porte responsibility agreed per lane with your carrier, and the transportation data available to the system that issues it
- Cancellation workflow with reason codes, receiver acceptance tracking and linked replacements
- Monthly export of stamped XML and PDF in the structure your accountant requests
- Reconciliation report: ERP invoices versus SAT-stamped, cancelled and replaced CFDI
Questions · Mexico e-invoicing requirements
What are Mexico's e-invoicing requirements?
Article 29 of Mexico's Federal Tax Code requires taxpayers to issue CFDI: XML invoices in the SAT's current 4.0 format, sealed with their digital certificate and stamped by an authorized provider (PAC). Annex 20 sets the receiver data, the payment complement for deferred payments and the reason codes for cancellations.
What is a factura in Mexico?
The everyday word for an income CFDI: the stamped XML electronic invoice issued under the seller's Mexican tax ID with the customer's tax data. The PDF is only its printed representation.
Who issues CFDI for a US company's sales?
CFDI are issued under a Mexican tax ID (RFC), so in practice by an entity registered in Mexico, such as a subsidiary, branch or distributor. A US company with Mexican operations, customers or suppliers will have CFDI flowing through its systems. Which transactions apply is for your Mexican accountant to confirm.
What is Carta Porte?
A complement to the CFDI describing goods, route, vehicle and operator for merchandise transported inside Mexico by road, rail, air or sea. A carrier billing the freight issues it on an income CFDI; a company moving its own goods, on a transfer CFDI.
What is a payment complement?
A CFDI issued for payments received on an invoice issued with payment method PPD, linked to that invoice. Rule 2.7.1.32 of the 2026 Miscellaneous Tax Resolution sets the deadline: the fifth calendar day of the month after the payment.
Can SAP or NetSuite issue CFDI 4.0?
Not without a localization layer that maps the transaction, validates receiver data against SAT catalogs, stamps through a PAC and stores the result. Some ERPs sell a module; many companies have the layer built so it fits their fields and their reconciliation.
Is this guide tax advice?
No. It is general information drawn from official sources for people who have to make software produce the right documents; it is not tax advice. Check the tax treatment of your transactions with your accountant.
Sources
- Factura electrónica: CFDI 4.0, Anexo 20 and filling guide (opens in a new tab) · Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) · accessed · official source
- Código Fiscal de la Federación (articles 29 and 29-A) (opens in a new tab) · Cámara de Diputados · accessed · official source
- Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal para 2026, rule 2.7.1.32 (DOF December 28, 2025) (opens in a new tab) · Diario Oficial de la Federación · accessed · official source
- Complemento Carta Porte (opens in a new tab) · Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) · accessed · official source
- Proveedores autorizados de certificación (PAC) (opens in a new tab) · Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) · accessed · official source