Mello-Roos Calculator

About this calculator

Mello-Roos refers to a special tax levied on homes within a Community Facilities District (CFD) in California, created under the 1982 Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act to fund infrastructure — schools, roads, sewers, parks — in newly developed areas that wouldn't otherwise generate enough property tax revenue for those improvements. The total annual tax bill combines the standard base property tax (roughly the assessed value times the base rate) with the separate flat or formula-based Mello-Roos special assessment, and dividing the total by 12 gives the monthly cost.

Homebuyers and real estate agents use this calculator to estimate the true carrying cost of a property in a CFD, since Mello-Roos assessments can add a meaningful amount on top of the base property tax rate and typically don't show up clearly in a simple "tax rate" listing. Because these assessments can run for 20–40 years and sometimes decrease over time as bonds are paid off, buyers evaluating new developments in California often check whether a home carries a Mello-Roos district before comparing it to a similar home without one.