SAT and CFDI 4.0: The new era of e-invoicing in Mexico

CFDI 4.0: The new standard

The Digital Tax Receipt via Internet (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet, or CFDI) version 4.0 is the current e-invoicing standard in Mexico, administered by the Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, or SAT). This version introduced significant changes compared to earlier releases.

Key changes in CFDI 4.0

Receiver data

• Name: must match the SAT registry exactly.
• RFC: mandatory, validated in real time.
• Fiscal address: ZIP code is now mandatory.
• Tax regime: the receiver's regime must be specified.
• CFDI use: a code describing how the receiver will use the document.

Issuer data

• Legal or trade name without the corporate-structure suffix.
• Validated RFC.
• Issuer's tax regime.

Types of CFDI

By document type

• Income (I): sales invoices.
• Expense (E): credit notes, returns, and refunds.
• Transfer (T): movement of goods without a sale.
• Payroll (N): payroll receipts.
• Payment (P): payment complements.

Special complements

• Payment complement: mandatory for deferred payments or installments.
• Carta Porte: required for the transport of goods.
• Foreign trade: required for exports.
• Payroll complement: detailed earnings and deductions information.

Payment complement

The Electronic Payment Receipt (Recibo Electrónico de Pago, or REP) is mandatory when:

• Payment is made after the invoice has been issued.
• Payment is made in installments.
• The invoice was issued as "Payment in Installments or Deferred" (PPD).

Payment-complement data

• Date and time of payment.
• Payment method (wire transfer, check, cash, etc.).
• Amount paid.
• UUIDs of the related invoices.
• Installment number.
• Previous balance and new balance.

Carta Porte

The Carta Porte complement is mandatory for the transportation of goods:

When is it required?

• Transport of goods on federal highways.
• Rail transport.
• Maritime transport.
• Air transport.

Required information

• Carrier data.
• Origin and destination.
• Description of goods.
• Weight and dimensions.
• Vehicle and driver information.

Mexican tax regime

VAT (IVA)

• General rate: 16%.
• Border rate: 8% (in designated border zones).
• 0% rate: food, medicine, and exports.
• Exempt: medical services, education, and housing.

Income tax (ISR)

• Corporate entities: 30%.
• Individuals: progressive rates up to 35%.
• Mandatory withholdings in certain cases.

Withholdings

• ISR on professional services: 10%.
• Withheld VAT: varies by service.
• RESICO: simplified trust regime for qualifying taxpayers.

CFDI validation

UUID and digital fiscal stamp

Every CFDI has a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) and a digital fiscal stamp that make the document unique and non-reproducible.

Lookups on the SAT portal

CFDIs can be verified on the SAT portal using:

• The document's UUID.
• The issuer's RFC.
• The receiver's RFC.
• The last 8 characters of the digital seal.

Automating compliance with Cedalio

Automated validation

• SAT verification: real-time CFDI status checks.
• RFC validation: verification of fiscal information.
• Complement control: tracking of payments and related documents.
• SAT blocklists: verification against the 69 and 69-B taxpayer lists.

Payment-complement management

• Reconciling payments with their source invoices.
• Alerts for pending payment complements.
• Validation of amounts and running balances.

Tax reporting

• Income and expense ledgers.
• Control of creditable and collected VAT.
• Withholding reports.
• Accounting-to-tax reconciliation.

Conclusion

CFDI 4.0 represents a major step forward in Mexican electronic tax enforcement. Meeting every requirement by hand is complex, but automation lets you manage compliance efficiently and avoid costly mistakes.