Local costs and rules
Mello-Roos in the Sacramento Region: What Buyers Should Know
What a Mello-Roos special tax is, how to find it on a tax bill before you buy and how it changes your payment.
What is Mello-Roos?
Mello-Roos is a special tax that pays for public facilities or services in a defined area. The name comes from the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982. That law lets a city, county or special district form a Community Facilities District, often called a CFD.
The district can sell bonds to build things like roads, sewers, parks or schools. Property owners inside the district then pay a yearly special tax to repay those bonds. Some districts also pay for ongoing services, such as park and landscape upkeep. The City of Roseville's Mello-Roos policies (effective April 3, 2024) list parks, open space, landscaping, police, fire and library services among the costs its districts can fund.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. A CPA or tax advisor can tell you how a special tax affects your own taxes.
How does a Mello-Roos district get approved?
A special tax needs a two-thirds vote. Under Government Code section 53328 (checked October 22, 2026), the tax can be levied only if two-thirds of the votes cast favor it.
Who votes depends on how many people live there. Under section 53326, if fewer than 12 registered voters have lived in the area for the 90 days before the hearing, the vote goes to the landowners. In a brand-new development, that landowner is often the builder. That's why many buyers in new neighborhoods find the tax already in place when they arrive.
How does Mello-Roos show up on your property tax bill?
It's listed as a separate line on your regular county property tax bill. Sacramento County's Department of Finance (tax FAQ page, checked October 22, 2026) calls these "direct levies." Your bill may show a Mello-Roos special tax, a 1915 Act improvement bond assessment or other direct charges, each with its own name and dollar amount.
Direct levies are not based on the Assessor's value of your home. A Mello-Roos tax follows the district's own formula, called the Rate and Method of Apportionment. The City of Roseville's special taxes page (checked October 22, 2026) says these taxes are collected on the property tax bill, due December 10 and April 10. They carry the same late penalties as regular property tax.
Our Sacramento property tax calculator estimates the base tax. Mello-Roos and other direct levies come on top of that.
How long does Mello-Roos last?
Each district sets its own end date. California's seller disclosure rule, Civil Code section 1102.6b, lists the date until which the tax may be levied as one of the things a Mello-Roos notice tells a buyer.
A tax that repays bonds usually runs until those bonds are paid off. A tax that pays for ongoing services can run much longer, because the services continue. Some formulas also let the tax rise each year up to a set percentage. The disclosure notice says whether yours can.
Don't assume a tax ends on a certain year because a neighbor said so. Read the notice or ask the district.
How do you look up Mello-Roos on a home before you buy?
Check three places, in this order:
- The current tax bill. Look up the parcel on the county tax collector's site and read the direct levy lines. In Sacramento County, the Department of Finance says district contact names and numbers are available on its information line at (916) 874-6622, option 2.
- The preliminary title report. Escrow orders it early. It lists recorded special tax liens and assessments on the property.
- The seller's Mello-Roos disclosure. Under Civil Code 1102.6b, the seller makes a good-faith effort to get the notice from each agency that levies the tax and gives it to you.
For a Roseville home, the city's special taxes page explains how to find the parcel number with its Property Information Tool. You can then match it to a district and read the district's formation resolution and Rate and Method.
What does the Mello-Roos disclosure tell you?
Civil Code 1102.6b (checked October 22, 2026) says a notice from a private source lists these items for each district:
- The name of the agency that levies the tax
- The tax due for the current year
- The most the tax can be in any year
- How much that maximum can rise each year
- The date until which the tax may be levied
- A contact phone number, if one is available
The seller may instead hand over the most recent tax bill or a list of current assessments. Read the notice the day it arrives. Ask your agent to compare the current tax with the maximum, so you know the range you could pay.
How does Mello-Roos affect your mortgage payment and qualifying?
Lenders count it. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide (section B3-6-03, checked October 22, 2026) lists special assessments and association dues in the monthly housing expense, along with principal, interest, taxes and insurance. That total feeds into your debt-to-income ratio.
Here's how it plays out. Two homes have the same price. One sits in a district with a special tax and the other does not. The home with the tax has a higher monthly payment, so the same income may qualify for a lower price there. If your loan has an escrow account, the special tax is part of what it collects each month.
Maggie B. Hopkins builds the full payment for each home you're serious about, with the special tax included, and shops the loan across a network of approved lenders. You can test numbers yourself with our mortgage calculator.
Which parts of the Sacramento region tend to have Mello-Roos?
Mostly newer master-planned communities, where streets, sewers, parks and schools were built along with the homes. Older established neighborhoods usually built that infrastructure decades ago, before the 1982 law, so they're less likely to carry the tax. Some older areas do have assessment districts of other kinds.
The City of Roseville publishes a list of its districts. Buyers also ask about newer tracts in Elk Grove, Lincoln and the Folsom Ranch area. The only reliable answer is address by address, so we check each home's tax bill and disclosures. Our city pages for Roseville, Elk Grove, Lincoln and El Dorado Hills cover more about each area.
Some new neighborhoods have HOA dues too. Our HOA guide covers those, and our new construction vs. resale guide compares the two.
How do you get started comparing homes with and without Mello-Roos?
Call Maggie at (916) 549-3131 or send us a note with the addresses you're weighing. We'll pull the tax picture for each one and show you the full monthly payment side by side.
Our free buyer guide lists the other address-level checks to make before you remove contingencies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mello-Roos the same as property tax?
No. It's a separate special tax that appears on the same bill. Your base property tax follows the home's assessed value. Mello-Roos follows the district's own formula.
Does Mello-Roos ever go away?
Each district sets an end date, which the seller's disclosure notice lists. Taxes for ongoing services can run longer than taxes that repay bonds.
Can Mello-Roos go up each year?
Some districts allow a set yearly increase up to a maximum. The disclosure notice states the maximum tax and how much it can rise each year.
Who tells me if a home has Mello-Roos?
The seller makes a good-faith effort to get and deliver the notice under Civil Code 1102.6b. The tax bill and the preliminary title report show it too.
Does Mello-Roos affect how much I can borrow?
Yes. Lenders include special assessments in your monthly housing expense, so a higher special tax means a higher payment for the same price.
Can I dispute a Mello-Roos charge?
Sacramento County says disputes go to the district that levies the charge, not the tax collector. The district's contact information is on or behind your tax bill.
Is Mello-Roos tax deductible?
That depends on what the tax pays for and your own tax situation. Ask a CPA or tax advisor before you count on a deduction.
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