The Tax Administration Service (SAT) collected 2.205 trillion pesos in income tax (ISR) between January and September 2026, a real annual contraction of 5.27%, according to the Public Finance Report from the Ministry of Finance (Hacienda) released on October 30. It is the first decline in ISR for a comparable period since 2009, when the drop was 9.70% real.
ISR accounts for 51.37% of federal tax revenue, so its performance weighs heavily on the year's collection path. El Economista reported that tax collection came in 137,053 million pesos below the programmed target, while public-sector budgetary revenues fell 2.8% real annually to 6.304 trillion. The figure matters because these resources fund spending on health, education and infrastructure in the final stretch of the year. Hacienda attributes the decline to lower payments in the annual returns filed by corporations (personas morales) in March, partly offset by withholding on wages.
In September alone, ISR collection was 208,352 million pesos, 1.93% real less than in the same month of 2025, according to El CEO. The tax has now posted eight consecutive months of annual contractions, with only January showing an increase, of 14.37%. The Federal Revenue Law set a target of 2.342 trillion pesos for September, a figure collection did not reach. One contextual factor is the composition of the labor market: of 59.977 million people employed in September, 32.562 million held informal jobs, according to Inegi data cited by the outlet. Finance Minister Édgar Amador Zamora acknowledged the ISR shortfall and attributed it to corporations, though he said the program is on track for a deficit of 4.1% of GDP.
Between October and December the tax authority needs roughly 288,000 million pesos per month in ISR to reach the 3.070 trillion set by the Revenue Law. The next reference point will be the fourth-quarter Public Finance Report, which will show whether the close of 2026 stays on that path.
This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
