Mello-Roos in Orange County, California: look it up, what it costs, when it ends

What is Mello-Roos?

It is the common name for the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982. The Treasurer-Tax Collector explains that it came after Proposition 13 to give local governments a way to pay for public facilities. A city, county, school district or water district forms a community facilities district (CFD), sells bonds to build public facilities, and repays them with a special tax on the property inside it. The tax starts only if two-thirds of the votes cast approve it.

It is billed and collected with your regular property tax, and a late payment gets the same penalties. Our Orange County property tax due dates page has the due dates.

How do I look up Mello-Roos by address?

• The county tax map. Search an address on the Orange County tax map. It shows the regular tax and each special charge, including Mello-Roos districts and PACE loans.
• Your tax bill. Look under "Special Assessment Charges." The line carries the district's own name, and the Treasurer says questions about it go to the phone number on your bill for that agency.
• A Notice of Special Tax. The agency must send one within five working days of a request, for a fee of no more than $15 (Government Code 53340.2). This is the most useful paper, because it states the maximum tax and the last tax year.

How much is Mello-Roos?

It depends on the district and the home, so there is no countywide figure. Each district's formation resolution sets a rate and method detailed enough for an owner to estimate the most they could pay (Government Code 53321). In a district formed in 1993 or later, the tax for facilities on a home has these limits:

• The maximum is a set dollar amount.
• That maximum can rise by no more than 2 percent a year.
• If other owners in the district stop paying, your tax can rise by no more than 10 percent to cover them.

Older districts follow their own formation papers, so check the notice. The district can charge less than the maximum, so this year's bill is the best guide to what you pay now.

When does Mello-Roos end?

For a facilities tax on a home in a district formed in 1993 or later, the district must name a last tax year. The Notice of Special Tax says the tax is charged each year until the facilities are built and the bonds are repaid, but in any case not after that year. For an older district, the agency on your bill can tell you when the bonds are paid off. A separate tax for ongoing services, such as park or street upkeep, can run until a stated year or, as the notice puts it, forever.

Some districts let you pay off the facilities tax early, if their resolution allows it; the agency on your bill can tell you. To see how much of a district's debt is left, look up its name from your bill in the state's DebtWatch data; districts with bonds sold since 1993 report to the state's debt commission (CDIAC) every year until the bonds are paid off. The Treasurer's Mello-Roos page also links older yearly reports (through 2018-19) by district name.

Is Mello-Roos the same as HOA dues?

No. Mello-Roos is a tax charged by a public agency on your property tax bill, and if it goes unpaid the home can be sold, as with regular property tax, and the district can also go to court to foreclose. HOA dues are paid to your homeowners association under its own rules. A home can have both, so budget for each.

What should a buyer get?

In a new subdivision, the builder must give you a Notice of Special Tax to sign before you sign the purchase contract, and you can cancel within three days of getting it in person, or five if it was mailed (Government Code 53341.5). On a resale, ask the seller for the Notice of Special Tax.

Local notes are on our Irvine, Ladera Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita and Aliso Viejo pages, and every city is on the Orange County hub. The first-year picture is in our new homeowner checklist.

As of November 2026. Your district's notice and the Treasurer-Tax Collector have the final word on amounts and dates.