Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - This handy how-to article will help you in the process of paying your taxes for your property located in the greater Banderas Bay's municipalities of Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas (including all Riviera Nayarit towns from Nuevo Vallarta to Lo de Marcos).

Taxes on real property are collected annually for the fiscal year of January through December. The process is similar for homeowners in both municipalities. Rates are generally not published until the second business week of January and can be seen on-line at the convenient links provided below.

If paid between January and March, both municipalities traditionally offer discounts from 15% to 5% - the earlier the greater. No discount is extended on partial year payments. Unpaid balances will be subject to interest and penalties.

If you are not in Mexico to make the payment, you can have your property manager do so for you in person or you can make the payment on-line using a credit card.

The benefit of making the payment directly at the offices is that the official receipt is issued there with the full property identification on it, handy for next year's reference and is the best official record. The on-line receipt does not carry that information and is strictly a banking transaction record.

Whether you elect to pay on-line or in person, the official Website links below are the source for your quote.

Locations and Links

Puerto Vallarta Owners
In person: The most convenient location is at the original City Hall (Presidencia) at Independencia #123 (on the Malecón across from Los Arcos.) To pay online, click HERE.

Bahía de Banderas / Riviera Nayarit Owners
In person: The most convenient location for most is the land registry office (Catastro) of Bucerias at Pacifico #17 (one block off the main square at the intersection of Av. Pacifico waterfront road). Taxes can be paid there for properties located in any of the towns of the municipality. Mobile or temporary locations may be set up in smaller towns at the beginning of the year. Credit cards and cash accepted at the offices. Online: click HERE

On-Line Pointers

Enter the link above. Type in your property tax account number from a past tax receipt where it says 'Cuenta' and click 'Buscar' or 'Realizar Consulta' (Search). For Vallarta you must also enter U (for urban) or R (for rustic) as found in the box 'TP' on your old receipt. Bahía de Banderas numbers already have a U or R as a prefix to the number. Note: your name does not appear on the account but the trust bank name does, so don't let that confuse you.

The amount you owe will appear. If it happens that there is no rate yet shown for the current year, it is likely in the process of updating by the authorities. Simply recheck it at intervals. Make sure to keep the payment receipt safely in your records.

For questions on this topic or other real estate matters, please contact your Timothy Real Estate Group agent.

This article was written by Victoria Pratt, a Sales Associate and Bucerias Office Manager, Timothy Real Estate Group

Timothy Real Estate Group is a full-service real estate sales, rentals and development agency representing some of the most distinguished properties and developments across Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas and the Riviera Nayarit. For more information, visit TimothyRealEstateGroup.com.

Click HERE to learn more about Timothy Real Estate Group