Invoicing

How to invoice your Mercado Libre sales in Mexico

How Mercado Libre's free Facturador works, when it's better to use your own invoicing system and which withholdings Mercado Libre applies in 2026.

7 min read

In short

To invoice your Mercado Libre sales in Mexico you have two paths. The first is the Facturador de Mercado Libre, a free tool that issues a generic invoice for each sale and lets the buyer turn it into an invoice with their RFC. The second is your own system (a PAC, an app or your accountant): you issue your CFDIs and upload them to each sale. Choose only one for your Mercado Libre sales, so invoices are never duplicated.

If you sell on Mercado Libre Mexico, your buyers will ask you for invoices. This guide compares the Facturador de Mercado Libre with your own system, explains how to avoid duplicate invoices and sums up the 2026 withholdings.

Option 1: the Facturador de Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre offers its sellers in Mexico its own tool for issuing CFDIs (Mexico's electronic invoices), which its seller notes call the Facturador or CFDI issuer (emisor de CFDI). According to those notes:

  • It's free.
  • It issues a generic invoice, without an RFC (Mexican tax ID), for each sale. If the buyer needs an invoice with their details, they convert it themselves, without you stepping in.
  • It has two modes: invoice all your sales, or only your Full sales (the ones Mercado Libre ships from its own warehouses).
  • To turn it on, you need your e.firma (your electronic signature from the SAT, Mexico's tax authority) and your digital seal certificate (CSD).
  • It stamps through a PAC (a stamping provider authorized by the SAT), Tralix, according to its terms (dated July 20, 2023).
  • It doesn't offer a global invoice: it issues one invoice per sale.
  • It only covers your Mercado Libre sales. What you sell in your online store has to be invoiced some other way.

When it makes sense: if you sell mostly on Mercado Libre, want something free that doesn't take any work, and don't mind having one invoice per sale.

Where it falls short: if you also sell in your Shopify store and want all your invoices in one place, or if your accountant prefers one global invoice (factura global) per period.

Option 2: your own system

With your own system (an invoicing app, your PAC's portal or your accountant), you issue the CFDI for each Mercado Libre sale and upload it to the sale. Here's what you need to know:

Uploading the invoice to the sale

Mercado Libre lets you upload the invoice for each sale: a PDF and an XML, up to 1 MB. When you upload it, Mercado Libre emails it to the buyer, so you don't need to send it yourself. In Mexico, this also applies to Full sales.

The buyer's tax details

When a buyer asks for an invoice, Mercado Libre stores their tax details in the sale: their RFC (or CURP, Mexico's personal ID code), name, tax regime (régimen fiscal), CFDI use (uso del CFDI) and postal code. Those are exactly the details CFDI 4.0 asks for. Keep two things in mind:

  • If the RFC is XAXX010101000, the generic RFC for the general public, the buyer didn't ask for an invoice with their details. That sale goes in a generic invoice or in your global invoice.
  • The details can arrive or change after the purchase. And if you ask the buyer for their details through Mercado Libre's post-sale messaging option, that option asks for name, RFC, address and postal code, but not the tax regime or the CFDI use. For those two, ask for their Constancia de Situación Fiscal (the tax status certificate the SAT issues).

Advantages

  • Your Mercado Libre sales and your Shopify store sales, invoiced in one place.
  • You can use a global invoice for sales in which nobody asked for an invoice. We explain it in CFDI 4.0 global invoice on Shopify.
  • You control credit notes for returns, and cancellations.

Disadvantages

  • You pay for stamping (folios) and, if applicable, for the app or service.
  • Someone has to check that each invoice gets uploaded to its sale.

How to choose

Your situationThe option that usually fits
You sell almost everything on Mercado Libre and few people ask for an invoiceThe Facturador de Mercado Libre
You use Full and want those sales invoiced automaticallyThe Facturador, in "Full only" mode, or your own system
You sell on Mercado Libre and Shopify and want everything in one placeYour own system
Your accountant wants one global invoice per periodYour own system
You have many returns and need well-organized credit notesYour own system

The golden rule: one tool for your Mercado Libre sales

If the Facturador is on and your system also invoices the same sales, each sale ends up invoiced twice. Then you have to cancel one of the two, sale by sale.

Before you turn on another system, go into your Mercado Libre account and check whether the Facturador is on, and in which mode. If you're going to use your own system for everything, turn the Facturador off. If you'll keep the Facturador for Full only, set up your system so it doesn't invoice those sales.

Mercado Libre withholdings in 2026

Withholdings don't change the decision about what to invoice with, but they do change what you receive for each sale. These are the IVA (value-added tax) and ISR (income tax) withholdings in Mercado Libre's table for 2026:

SellerIVA withholdingISR withholding
With RFC8%2.5%
Without RFC16%20%
  • The base is the price before IVA.
  • Legal entities (personas morales) are also subject to withholding as of January 1, 2026, "por disposición de la Ley de Ingresos de México para 2026" (as provided by Mexico's 2026 Revenue Law).
  • Guanajuato adds a 2.5% cedular withholding (a state tax).
  • Mercado Libre issues a withholding certificate every month.

The 2.5% ISR rate comes from article 25, section VI, of the 2026 Federal Revenue Law (Ley de Ingresos de la Federación). These rates can change every year with the Revenue Law; check the 2027 rates when they're published. Ask your accountant how to credit the withholdings in your tax returns.

Steps if you use your own system

  1. Check the Facturador. In your Mercado Libre account, turn it off or leave it on for Full only.
  2. Connect your system. It should read the buyer's tax details for each sale.
  3. Invoice whoever asks. When the buyer asks for an invoice, issue the CFDI with their details.
  4. Group the rest. When they don't ask, the sale goes in your global invoice for the period, or in a generic invoice.
  5. Upload the PDF and the XML to the sale.
  6. Issue credit notes. If there's a return, issue the CFDI de egreso (credit note) related to the original invoice.
  7. Keep your XML files somewhere of your own, not just in the tool.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Facturador de Mercado Libre issue a global invoice?

No. According to Mercado Libre's notes, it issues a generic invoice for each sale, without an RFC, which the buyer can convert into an invoice with their details.

Can I use the Facturador only for my Full sales?

Yes. The Facturador has a mode for invoicing only Full sales. In that case, your system should invoice the rest and skip the Full ones.

What do I do if a buyer asks for an invoice by message?

Use the sale's post-sale messages, not the listing's questions. Ask for their Constancia de Situación Fiscal: it shows their exact name, tax postal code and regime, which CFDI 4.0 needs exactly as they appear.

What about my Shopify store sales?

The Facturador only covers your Mercado Libre sales. For your store, you need your own system: an invoicing app, your PAC's portal or your accountant.

This article is for information only and doesn't replace advice from your accountant (contador).

About Toldo

Toldo is a Shopify app we build; it's rolling out in stages with a small group of founding partners. It invoices your Shopify sales with CFDI 4.0: a self-invoicing portal, a global invoice and credit notes. For your Mercado Libre sales, you choose who invoices them, Toldo or the Facturador de Mercado Libre, so they're never duplicated (who invoices your Mercado Libre sales). A PAC authorized by the SAT stamps your invoices with your own CSD; Toldo is not a PAC. During the rollout, we turn on each feature in stages. If you're interested, you can apply as a founding partner.

Mercado Libre and Shopify are trademarks of their respective owners. Toldo is an independent app; it isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Sources

Accessed on November 15, 2026, unless another date is given.