Law guide
Permits to sell cakes in Mexico from home
To sell cakes in Mexico, even from your home kitchen, you need three things: a free aviso de funcionamiento filed online with COFEPRIS, registration with the SAT (most home bakers fit the RESICO regime, which taxes income at 1% to 2.5%), and whatever business licence your municipality asks for. Mexico has no cottage food law, so there is no separate home-baker exemption and no sales cap: a home kitchen that sells food is treated as a food establishment and must meet the hygiene standard NOM-251. This guide walks through each step, what cakes pay in VAT and IEPS, and a worked example of what the taxes mean for your price. It is a summary, not legal advice.
| Topic | Rule | Who to check with |
|---|---|---|
| Sales cap | No home-baker sales cap; RESICO applies to individuals with income under 3.5 million pesos a year | SAT |
| Allowed foods | No cottage food list; any food can be sold if the establishment meets NOM-251 | COFEPRIS or your state health authority |
| Online and shipping sales | No specific federal ban found; the same health and tax rules apply | Check with COFEPRIS |
| Permit and fee | Aviso de funcionamiento, filed online, free for individuals; municipal licence fees vary | COFEPRIS and your municipality |
| Labeling | NOM-051 for prepackaged food, including front-of-pack warning seals | Check with COFEPRIS |
| Training | NOM-251 requires food handlers to be trained in hygiene practices | Your state health authority |
| Sales tax | VAT 0% on cakes and baked goods; 16% if sold for consumption on site or in cafes | SAT |
| High-calorie food tax (IEPS) | 8% on non-basic foods with 275 kcal or more per 100 g, which usually covers cakes, cookies and pan dulce; non-sweet bread is exempt | SAT or your contador |
Last verified October 11, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change: check them with your state or local authority before you sell.
Do you need permits to sell cakes in Mexico from home?
Yes. Unlike many US states, Mexico does not have a cottage food law that lets home bakers sell small amounts without registering. The General Health Law treats any place that prepares and sells food as an establishment of products and services, and that includes a kitchen at home that sells cakes, cookies or bread.
The good news is that the federal health step is a notice, not a licence. You file an aviso de funcionamiento with COFEPRIS, the federal health regulator, and you can start operating once it is filed. There is no inspection before you open, although COFEPRIS or your state health authority (usually called COEPRIS or the state health services) can visit and check that you meet NOM-251.
Step 1: the COFEPRIS aviso de funcionamiento
According to the Ministry of Economy's Ventanilla Unica para Mipymes, an individual (persona fisica) can file the aviso de funcionamiento online for free, and it takes about 30 minutes. Bakeries (panaderias), cafes, dulcerias and similar food businesses are on the list of establishments that must file it.
- Get your e.firma (advanced electronic signature) from the SAT if you do not have one yet.
- Have a valid official photo ID at hand.
- Create an account in DIGIPRiS, the COFEPRIS online system for self-service procedures.
- File the aviso de funcionamiento for your establishment, describing the activity as producing and selling baked goods.
- Download and keep the acknowledgement.
Step 2: register with the SAT and choose RESICO
Selling cakes is a business activity, so you need to be registered in the RFC with that activity. The SAT describes RESICO (Regimen Simplificado de Confianza) as a regime for individuals whose income is under 3.5 million pesos a year. Income tax (ISR) is a rate of 1% to 2.5% on the income you actually collect, with no expense deductions, and monthly returns are pre-filled from the CFDI invoices you issue.
Under RESICO you keep your RFC, e.firma and Buzon Tributario active and file every month. The SAT publishes the monthly rate table; check the current version before you file, because the tables and rules are updated through the annual tax rules (Resolucion Miscelanea Fiscal).
Customers who ask for an invoice (factura) must get a CFDI. You can issue them with the SAT's own free invoicing service or with an authorized provider.
Do cakes pay VAT (IVA) in Mexico?
Under the VAT law and its regulation, food products are taxed at 0%, and the regulation expressly includes baked goods made by baking, cooking or frying, including cakes and cookies even when they are not made in a bakery. A cake you sell to take home is generally at the 0% rate.
The exception is food sold in restaurants, fondas, cafes and similar places, or food prepared for consumption where it is sold. Those pay the general 16% rate, even when the customer takes it away. If you sell slices with coffee at a table, that part of your sales is likely at 16%. Because this line is easy to get wrong, confirm your case with an accountant (contador) or the SAT.
Do cakes pay IEPS, the 8% tax on high-calorie foods?
Besides VAT, the IEPS law (Ley del IEPS, article 2, section I, item J) charges 8% on the sale of non-basic foods with 275 kilocalories or more per 100 grams. Its list includes confectionery, chocolate products, flans and puddings, and foods prepared from cereals, which is where cakes, cookies and pan dulce usually fall. Most cakes and cookies are above 275 kcal per 100 grams, and if a product has no nutrition label, the law presumes it reaches that threshold unless you prove otherwise.
The SAT lists basic foods that do not pay this IEPS, such as tortillas and non-sweet bread like bolillo, telera, baguette and sliced bread. Food served in restaurants, cafes and similar places does not pay it either, because that is a food service. RESICO does not exempt you from IEPS. Ask a contador or the SAT whether it applies to your products, and how to declare it, before you set your prices.
Step 3: your municipal licence
Most municipalities ask for a business licence (licencia de funcionamiento) and a land-use check (uso de suelo) for any commercial activity, including one run from home. Some also ask for a civil protection (Proteccion Civil) review. Requirements, fees and whether a small home business is exempt vary by municipality and state, so check with your town hall before you start. Many municipalities have a fast-track office for low-risk businesses.
Hygiene (NOM-251) and labeling (NOM-051)
NOM-251-SSA1-2009 sets the hygiene practices every food establishment must follow: clean surfaces and equipment, safe water, pest control, separating raw and cooked ingredients, correct storage temperatures, personal hygiene, and training for the people who handle food. A home kitchen is held to the same standard. Your state health authority can tell you whether it expects a specific food-handling course.
NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010 covers labeling of prepackaged food, including the black front-of-pack warning seals. If you sell packaged cookies or bread in sealed bags through a shop, you will likely need a compliant label. Whether a cake made to order and handed directly to the customer needs a full label is less clear-cut; check with COFEPRIS before selling packaged products.
Worked example: what the taxes mean for your price
This is an illustration, not tax advice. Suppose you sell 40 custom cakes a month at 650 pesos each, all to take away, so VAT is at 0%. Your monthly income is 26,000 pesos, or 312,000 pesos a year, well under the RESICO cap.
At an illustrative ISR rate of 1.1% on collected income, the monthly tax is about 286 pesos, or roughly 7 pesos per cake. If your cakes pay IEPS, 8% on a 650-peso price before tax is 52 pesos per cake, or 2,080 pesos a month. Together that is about 59 pesos per cake, and it belongs in your price along with ingredients, packaging, your time and gas. If you also sell slices at a table, those sales would carry 16% VAT instead of IEPS.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cakes sold | 40 |
| Price per cake | 650 pesos |
| Monthly income | 26,000 pesos |
| ISR at an illustrative 1.1% | 286 pesos |
| ISR per cake | about 7 pesos |
| IEPS at 8%, if it applies | 2,080 pesos |
| ISR and IEPS per cake | about 59 pesos |
| VAT on take-away cakes | 0% |
Keep the records the SAT and an inspector expect
Once you are registered, the hard part is keeping track: what each cake really costs, what you sold, and who still owes a balance. Farinu is built for home and micro bakers. It costs each recipe with ingredients, packaging, labour, machines and overhead and works out a price from the markup you want, so taxes and fees do not eat your profit.
It also keeps customers with their WhatsApp number and custom orders with deposits and balance payments, up to 50 a month on the free plan, and on the Team plan a sales log and a monthly P&L, which makes your monthly RESICO return easier to prepare. Farinu does not issue CFDI invoices; use the SAT's service or your provider for those. Costing is free for up to 10 recipes.
Sources
- Ventanilla Unica para Mipymes (Secretaria de Economia): aviso de funcionamiento, persona fisica
- SAT: requirements and obligations to stay in RESICO
- Chamber of Deputies: Federal IEPS Law (Ley del IEPS), article 2, section I, item J
Questions
- Is there a cottage food law in Mexico?
- No. Mexico has no special law for home bakers. A home kitchen that sells food files the same COFEPRIS aviso de funcionamiento as any food business and follows NOM-251.
- How much does the COFEPRIS aviso de funcionamiento cost?
- For an individual it is free and filed online through DIGIPRiS, according to the Ministry of Economy's Ventanilla Unica para Mipymes. You need your e.firma and an official ID.
- Do I have to charge VAT on cakes?
- Cakes and baked goods sold to take away are generally at the 0% rate. Food sold in cafes or prepared for consumption on site pays 16%. Confirm your case with an accountant or the SAT.
- Do cakes pay IEPS in Mexico?
- Often, yes. The IEPS law charges 8% on non-basic foods with 275 kcal or more per 100 grams, including foods prepared from cereals, and most cakes, cookies and pan dulce pass that mark. Non-sweet bread such as bolillo is exempt. Confirm with a contador or the SAT.
- Which tax regime fits a home baker?
- Most individuals with income under 3.5 million pesos a year can use RESICO, with an income tax rate of 1% to 2.5% and monthly returns. Check eligibility with the SAT.
- Do I need permits to open a bakery shop instead of selling from home?
- The same three layers apply: COFEPRIS aviso, SAT registration and a municipal licence. A shop usually adds land-use and civil protection checks for the premises.
Related pages
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Cost your recipes, set your markup and track orders and sales in one place with Farinu. Costing is free for up to 10 recipes.