Bagette

Hi all -

Is it true that there is a departure tax that must be paid in cash at the airport when departing Mexico? I've read some blogs where such a tax is mentioned, but can't find any definitive information on any official websites (such as Mexican Consulate or US Dept of State) as to how much the departure tax is, if it is already included in ALL air fares when departing the US, etc.

I am traveling XXX-PHL-CUN, CUN-CLT-XXX via US Airways (Travelocity vacation package). The US Airways website implies that it DOES NOT pay foreign taxes and such taxes may be collected later. Travelocity doesn't really address the issue; when I called customer service, she said all taxes had been paid, but there is no line item for a departure tax on my receipt.

I just want to be prepared, so any information or advice is welcome!

Thanks!

El Cochinito

Years ago the departure tax was collected at the airport but now Mexican taxes (and they aren't cheap!) are included in the air ticket.

flugvergnugen

Normally all fees and taxes are collected in your ticket.

The departure fee is technically not a tax ('TUA = Tarifa Uso de Aeropuerto'), but more akin to the airport improvement fees charged in Canada. What certainly is a tax is the Tourism Tax charged on ALL foreign arrivals (with exceptions) - if you are a Mexican citizen, you can usually have this waived by the airline. For MEX, TUA and Tourism Tax amount to almost USD50....

kevincrumbs

Just flew US MEX-CLT-PDX last week and there was no collection of taxes at MEX. As the other two mentioned, it's now included in the price of your ticket. No need to worry.

Ancien Maestro

You know.. 5 years ago I remember doling out cash..

But just returned from CUN, and I trust that the airport taxes are indeed collected as part of the fees on the airline ticket..

tcook052

Correct, though they're cheap compared to the UK, for example.

FWIW I returned from CUN last week and paid no departure tax as it was prepaid.

Bagette

Thanks everybody! I feel much better now! :-)

Section 107

I have been travelling to Mexico almost monthly over the last 5 years. When traveling to Mexico via plane the tourist and airport taxes/fees are collected by the airline; when buying a roundtrip ticket its a given that airline will collect the taxes.

But some people arrive in the country by other than airline and the tourist tax was never paid (eg. most often via cruise ship). When they leave the country by plane the taxes/fees must be paid.

When buying a one way ticket out of the country the airline has no way of knowing whether the pax paid the appropriate taxes/fees on entry and reasonably cant be expected to try to figure it out.

So the government collects these charges in a completely separate transaction from the plane ticket. Unfortunately, most immigration/customs offices in Mexico are not set up to collect payments via credit card, hence the requirement to pay the taxes/fees in cash.

hope this provides a bit more understanding.