Dates and how the money reaches you
The 2025 personal tax return (declaración anual) is filed between April 1 and April 30, 2026. If you're owed a refund and your CLABE bank account number is verified in the SAT portal, the SAT usually deposits it automatically between May and July. If your CLABE isn't verified, the refund falls through and you'll have to redo the request — verify it before you file.
If you're carrying debt with a CAT above 20%
Clear it before doing anything else. No legal investment in Mexico delivers a net return that can compete with avoiding 50% a year on a credit card or 180% on a SOFOM loan. The math is brutal: every peso you put against a maxed-out card "earns" you that card's CAT for the rest of the year.
If you have no expensive debt — the emergency cushion comes first
Build a fund equal to three months of essential expenses, in a high-liquidity account (CETES Directo, Nu, Hey Banco). Only after that cushion is in place should you think about fixed-term deposits, mutual funds or more sophisticated instruments. Skipping the cushion is what forces people into expensive credit when something unexpected hits.
The less obvious use: a down payment
If you're planning to buy a car or a home in the next twelve months, your SAT refund is an excellent source for the down payment. It doesn't come from your regular income, doesn't affect your future repayment capacity, and a bigger down payment directly lowers the CAT the bank offers you. On a car loan, taking the down payment from 10% to 30% typically shaves 2 to 4 points off the CAT — worth more than most of the saving you'd do over the year.
The usual mistakes
Spending it on impulse the week it lands. Forgetting to deduct medical bills, school tuition and mortgage interest — those are the deductions that generate the refund in the first place, so it's worth filing the return without rushing. Ignoring the CLABE in the SAT portal — without it the refund won't execute.