Mexican entrepreneurs form or buy an Estonian private limited company (OÜ), often as e-residents, and run it from Mexico. Mexican tax law looks at where a company has its principal administration or its place of effective management, and Estonia and Mexico have a tax treaty. This guide sets out these rules with the official texts, and what we do on the Estonian side.
The guide is general information, not tax advice. How your company and you are taxed depends on the facts of your case; ask a Mexican tax adviser (contador público or abogado fiscalista) before you form or buy the company. We read the Federal Tax Code (Código Fiscal de la Federación) in the federal legal compilation Orden Jurídico Nacional (ordenjuridico.gob.mx; the last reform it includes was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 12 November 2021 — later reforms may not be in it), the Estonia–Mexico tax convention in Riigi Teataja and the list of Estonia's tax treaties of the Estonian Ministry of Finance, on 4 November 2026; the English wording of the Code is our translation.
In Estonia: an Estonian company is Estonian
A company established under Estonian law is resident in Estonia for tax purposes (Income Tax Act § 6). Its profit is taxed when it is distributed, not while it stays in the company — the guide how Estonia taxes company profit explains the rule. The company keeps its Estonian duties wherever its owners live: accounts, an annual report to the commercial register and, if its address is abroad, a contact person in Estonia.
In Mexico: the company side
- Who is resident in Mexico. Legal persons that have established in Mexico the principal administration of the business or their place of effective management are considered resident in Mexican territory (Federal Tax Code, article 9, section II).
An Estonian OÜ managed from Mexico can therefore also be resident in Mexico under Mexican law. Whether it is depends on where its management decisions are in fact taken — a question for your Mexican tax adviser.
The Estonia–Mexico tax convention
- In force. The convention was signed on 19 October 2012 and entered into force on 4 December 2013; it applies from 1 January 2014 (Estonian Ministry of Finance, list of tax treaties).
- A company resident in both countries. Where a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement and determine the mode of application of the Convention to such person (Article 4(3)).
- Dividends. Dividends paid by a company resident in one State to a resident of the other State and beneficially owned by that resident shall be taxable only in that other State (Article 10(1)); this does not apply where the holding is effectively connected with a permanent establishment of the owner in the State of the paying company (Article 10(3)).
What to decide before you form or buy the company
- Where the company is managed. The Mexican Code looks at the principal administration and the place of effective management; under the convention a company resident in both countries is settled by the two tax authorities.
- How profits reach you. Dividends fall under Article 10 of the convention and your Mexican return.
Documents from Mexico: the apostille
Mexico is a party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention); it has applied there since 14 August 1995. A public document from Mexico — for example a power of attorney certified by a notary or a company register extract — is accepted in Estonia with an apostille; consular legalisation is not needed.
In Mexico the apostille is issued by the Ministry of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) for federal documents, and the competent authority of the issuing state for state documents (32 authorities). It can be checked at dicoppu.segob.gob.mx (federal apostilles).
Source: the HCCH status table of the Apostille Convention (hcch.net) and the HCCH page of its competent authority, read 4 November 2026.
What we do on the Estonian side
- for your own company, a written analysis of its tax residence and permanent establishment under Estonian law and the convention — an analysis, not tax advice;
- online formation for an e-resident — €0.01 (required with it: registered address and contact person for the first 12 months €250), or formation by power of attorney — €1,250;
- a ready-made company bought remotely — €1,200, with an apostilled English registry extract as an add-on — €550, sent by courier — €100; Registered address and contact person service for one year are included.
- accounting — from €150 / month and the annual report — from €450;
- the registered address and contact person after the first 12 months — €350 / year.
New Estonian company formation: in person at a notary office in Tallinn €950; remotely, by notarised power of attorney €1,250. Registered address and contact person service for one year are included.
Ready-made Estonian company: in person at a notary office in Tallinn, without a VAT number €900; in person at a notary office in Tallinn, with a VAT number €1,150; remotely, by notarised power of attorney, without a VAT number €1,200; remotely, by notarised power of attorney, with a VAT number €1,450. Registered address and contact person service for one year are included.
Our accounting covers the Estonian company's Estonian obligations. Mexican tax returns and Mexican tax advice are not included. Owners in other countries: Estonian company run from abroad compares the rules side by side.
Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.
Ready to start? A new Estonian company — online for e-residents or by power of attorney; Mexican tax advice is not included. Order.
Official sources
The laws this article names, each linked to its official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.
- Income Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
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Frequently asked questions
Can an Estonian company managed from Mexico be resident in Mexico?
It can. Legal persons that have established in Mexico the principal administration of the business or their place of effective management are considered resident in Mexico (Federal Tax Code, article 9, section II). In Estonia the company stays resident because it was established under Estonian law (Income Tax Act § 6). Ask your Mexican tax adviser.