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Mello-Roos + special tax districts — the property-tax extras you didn't see

Property tax isn't just the county millage rate. Many newer subdivisions carry special-district taxes that add hundreds-to-thousands per year. They're often legal, often disclosed, and often overlooked.

Published 2026-04-25 · Last reviewed 2026-07-03 · methodology

California — Mello-Roos (Community Facilities Districts)

Authorized by the 1982 Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act.

Funds infrastructure (roads, schools, parks) for new developments. Bond debt is repaid by parcel-level annual special tax.

Typical impact: $500-3,500/year on top of the 1% Prop-13 base + ad valorem assessments.

Term: usually 25-40 years from bond issuance. After bonds mature, the tax disappears.

Disclosure: California requires a Mello-Roos disclosure document (Notice of Special Tax) at sale. Read it.

Florida — CDDs (Community Development Districts)

Common in master-planned communities (The Villages, Lakewood Ranch, many newer Orlando/Tampa subdivisions).

Two components: O&M (operations & maintenance — recurring) + Capital Debt Service (bond payback — finite term).

Impact: $1,500-5,000/year combined typical. Can exceed the base ad valorem property tax.

Disclosure: required on the listing per Florida statute, but easily missed in the noise of paperwork.

Texas — MUDs (Municipal Utility Districts) + PIDs

MUDs fund water/sewer/drainage in unincorporated areas (most Houston suburbs). Tax rate appears as a separate line on your tax bill.

PIDs (Public Improvement Districts) — assessment-based, similar to Mello-Roos. Common in Frisco, McKinney, other DFW exurbs.

Impact: a $400k home in a MUD can carry $1,500-3,000/year in MUD tax above the school + county rate.

How to find them before you buy

Pull the property tax bill (county assessor). Look for line items beyond the base school/county/city rate.

Ask the listing agent: 'Is this property in a Mello-Roos / CDD / MUD / PID? What's the annual amount, and when does the bond mature?'

California: request the Mello-Roos Notice of Special Tax. Florida: request the CDD disclosure. Texas: review the tax bill line-items.

If the seller can't or won't provide the data, your title company will surface it during the title search — but by then you've already invested in inspection + appraisal.

What zipradar shows

Property-tax effective millage at the ZIP level — the COUNTY base. See /topic/property-tax/[zip]/.

Special-district taxes are PARCEL-LEVEL (not ZIP-level), so they don't appear in our federation. Always pull the actual tax bill from the county assessor for the specific parcel.