What Is the Mello Roos Tax in Carmel Valley, and Is It Ending?

by Zach Arrington

Updated October 2026

Carmel Valley homes inside the North City West school districts pay a Mello Roos special tax to the North City West School Facilities Financing Authority, and the Authority says fiscal year 2026/2027 is the final year that tax will be levied for both of its districts, CFD No. 1 and CFD No. 2. Homes in Pacific Highlands Ranch are in separate, newer school districts whose bonds mature as late as September 1, 2042. City maintenance assessments are a separate charge with no end date listed in the city's reports.

I am Zach Arrington, Broker Associate with Real, and I work with buyers and sellers across Carmel Valley, including two 2026 seller closings in the 92130 area: 5544 Mill Creek Rd in Pacific Highlands Ranch and 12994 Caminito Bautizo. Below is what the public records say.

What is Mello Roos in Carmel Valley?

Mello Roos is a special tax levied by a Community Facilities District (CFD) and collected on the county property tax bill in addition to the regular property tax. In Carmel Valley the largest districts were formed to build schools. The North City West Authority was created in 1983 by Del Mar Union School District, Solana Beach School District and San Dieguito Union High School District to finance school facilities for the area it describes as "known as the Carmel Valley."

Scope matters here. This post covers homes inside the City of San Diego in ZIP 92130, including Pacific Highlands Ranch and Torrey Highlands. Whether a specific home pays any of these taxes depends on its parcel, not its ZIP code, and condos and townhomes are often taxed at different rates than detached homes. Nothing here applies to Del Mar, Solana Beach or Rancho Santa Fe parcels.

Which special taxes are ending, and which continue?

The North City West taxes are the ones scheduled to end; the Pacific Highlands Ranch school taxes and the city maintenance districts continue. I assembled the table below from the County Auditor's list of active Mello Roos districts for fiscal year 2025/2026, each district's own reports, and the City of San Diego's fiscal year 2027 engineer's reports. District numbers are written with a space where the official name uses a hyphen (for example, CFD No. 2004 1).

Charge on the bill	Where it applies	What the records show	When it ends
North City West CFD No. 1 and CFD No. 2 (schools)	Carmel Valley neighborhoods inside the North City West district map	Rate per parcel is based on the home's square footage and does not increase for developed property. CFD No. 1 reported $7,172,640.80 in special taxes due annually as of June 30, 2025.	Authority states the final year is fiscal year 2026/2027
Solana Beach School District CFD No. 1999 1	Pacific Highlands Ranch	Fiscal year 2024/2025 assigned tax for detached homes ranged from $1,188.14 to $2,942.00 per home, depending on the home's base year, which is tied to when it was permitted. Attached units ranged from $358.62 to $888.02.	Bonds mature September 1, 2042
Solana Beach School District CFD No. 2004 1	Pacific Highlands Ranch	Fiscal year 2024/2025 average tax for detached homes: $2,477.08 (2,500 square feet or less), $3,628.71 (2,501 to 2,900), $4,848.05 (over 2,900).	Bonds mature September 1, 2042
Del Mar Union School District CFD No. 99 1	Pacific Highland Ranch school facilities	$2,846,147.36 in special taxes due annually as of the fiscal year 2024/2025 report. Per home amounts are available through the district's online parcel lookup.	Not stated in the reports I found
San Dieguito Union High School District CFD No. 99 1 and CFD No. 03 1	Pacific Highlands Ranch (03 1); portions of Pacific Highlands Ranch and Del Mar Mesa (99 1)	District says single family homes in its CFDs have a maximum of $800 to $1,014 per year and multifamily units $218 to $274. The tax is flat and cannot increase.	No developed parcel is taxed for more than 35 years
City Maintenance Assessment Districts (not Mello Roos)	Carmel Valley, Carmel Valley Neighborhood 10, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Torrey Highlands	Fiscal year 2027 rate for one detached home: $84.96 to $465.78 (Carmel Valley, by zone), $200.00 (Neighborhood 10), $42.06 or $43.92 (Pacific Highlands Ranch), $131.88 or $202.34 (Torrey Highlands). Condos pay 0.7 of the home rate.	No end date listed in the city's reports; rates can rise up to a maximum that is itself adjusted each year for inflation

How I built it: I matched each district on the County Auditor's list to its most recent public report, used the project names and boundary descriptions in those reports to place it, and copied rates exactly as published. The condo figure is the city's 0.7 equivalent benefit unit factor for condominiums. The newest Solana Beach district reports I could find online cover fiscal year 2024/2025, so those rows show that year.

Is Mello Roos ending in Carmel Valley?

For the North City West districts, yes, according to the Authority. Its published answers for both districts say the tax runs for 30 years after the final bond series, that the final bonds were issued in 1997, and that the final year of the tax is fiscal year 2026/2027. A fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30, so that is the tax bill covering July 2026 through June 2027. If that schedule holds, the North City West line should not appear starting with the 2027/2028 bill.

Two cautions. First, the Authority's CFD No. 1 still reported $10,610,205.75 in bonds outstanding as of June 30, 2025, so I would confirm the end date with the Authority's listed contact, Koppel & Gruber Public Finance, before relying on it for a large decision. Second, the Authority's answers also say developed homes cannot prepay these taxes, so there is nothing to pay off early.

Why Pacific Highlands Ranch is different

Pacific Highlands Ranch was built later under its own school districts, so most homes there keep paying special taxes after North City West ends. The Solana Beach School District reports put both of its Pacific Highlands Ranch districts on bonds with a final maturity of September 1, 2042. The San Dieguito district caps any developed parcel at 35 years of tax. Newer homes also tend to pay more: in CFD No. 1999 1, a detached home with a 2024/2025 base year was assigned $2,942.00, while one with a 2001/2002 base year was assigned $1,188.14.

What I tell buyers

Budget from the actual bill, not a neighborhood average. Pull the current county tax bill for the exact parcel and read each special tax line by name. A Carmel Valley home whose only special tax is North City West may see its bill drop after this fiscal year, while a newer Pacific Highlands Ranch home with Solana Beach and San Dieguito districts will keep most of its special taxes for years. When I represent a buyer, I check these lines before we write an offer.

What this means if you are selling

If your bill shows North City West as your main special tax, that is worth explaining to buyers with the Authority's published end date, because buyers often ask whether a Carmel Valley home's Mello Roos will ever end. If you are in Pacific Highlands Ranch, expect buyers to compare your total tax bill against older Carmel Valley homes, and price with that in mind. I track this market closely and can pull these figures for a specific address.

How to check a specific home

Look up the parcel on the San Diego County Treasurer Tax Collector's site and open the bill; each special tax shows as its own line. The County Auditor's list gives a phone number for every district: Koppel & Gruber at (888) 510 0290 for North City West, Del Mar Union and Solana Beach districts, and the San Dieguito district at (760) 753 6491 ext. 5514. Del Mar Union also has an online Mello Roos parcel lookup, and its office takes property questions at 858 755 9301 ext. 3670.

If you are buying or selling in Carmel Valley and want a second set of eyes on a tax bill, call or text me, Zach Arrington, at (619) 374-5339 or email zach@zarealtygroup.com. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Related reading: Does your Carmel Valley home pay San Diego's new trash fee?

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if I am paying Mello Roos in Carmel Valley?

Open your county secured property tax bill and look at the special tax lines listed separately from the regular property tax. North City West, Solana Beach School District, Del Mar Union School District and San Dieguito Union High School District CFDs each appear by name. The County Auditor's list gives a contact number for each district if a line is unclear.

Does Mello Roos ever go away in Carmel Valley?

Yes, Mello Roos taxes have end dates. The North City West School Facilities Financing Authority says fiscal year 2026/2027 is the final year for its CFD No. 1 and CFD No. 2. Pacific Highlands Ranch school districts run longer, with bonds maturing as late as September 1, 2042.

How much is Mello Roos in Pacific Highlands Ranch?

It depends on the districts on the parcel, the home's size and the year it was permitted. In fiscal year 2024/2025, Solana Beach School District CFD No. 2004 1 averaged $2,477.08 to $4,848.05 for detached homes by size, and CFD No. 1999 1 assigned $1,188.14 to $2,942.00 depending on the home's base year. San Dieguito district taxes are additional and capped at $800 to $1,014 per year for single family homes.

How much is Mello Roos per month?

Mello Roos is billed annually on the property tax bill, so divide the annual amount by 12 to budget monthly. For example, a $2,942.00 annual special tax works out to about $245 per month.

What is the difference between HOA dues and Mello Roos?

HOA dues go to your homeowners association for the community's upkeep and are billed by the association. Mello Roos is a public special tax that pays for facilities such as schools and is collected on the county tax bill. Carmel Valley also has city Maintenance Assessment Districts on the tax bill, which are neither HOA dues nor Mello Roos.

Can I pay off Mello Roos early in Carmel Valley?

Usually not for an existing home. The North City West Authority says its rules do not allow prepayment for developed property, and the San Dieguito district says existing residences have no way to prepay. In the San Dieguito districts, prepayment was only available before a building permit was issued.

Does Mello Roos go up every year?

For many Carmel Valley districts, no. The North City West Authority says the tax on developed property stays the same for its term, and the San Dieguito district describes its tax as flat. City maintenance assessments are different: they can rise up to a maximum that is itself adjusted each year for inflation.

Is the Carmel Valley maintenance assessment the same as Mello Roos?

No. Maintenance Assessment Districts are City of San Diego assessments for landscaping, lighting and related upkeep, and the city's fiscal year 2027 rates for a detached home range from $42.06 to $465.78 depending on the district and zone. They are not scheduled to end with the North City West school taxes.

Zach Arrington, DRE 02135675, Real Broker, LLC