A big hat tip to San Diego Castles Realty agent Sasha Harvey (who apparently reads the Orange County Register) for the link to this bit of bad news for homeowners blessed a Mello Roos assessment.
From the Orange County Register article:
Beginning with the 2012 tax bill (the one due in April 2013), the state Franchise Tax Board will require property owners to break down their property taxes into deductible and non-deductible portions.
That means property owners who have been deducting their Mello-Roos fees — often running into thousands of dollars — will no longer be able to deduct those or any other special assessments like vector control or mosquito abatement.
I am not an attorney or tax dude. Having said that, it has sort of been conventional wisdom to date that while Mello Roos is not "strictly speaking" tax deductable, it conveniently shows up on the property tax bill so, hey! It's deductable by association. No longer.
(Did I mention that I'm not an attorney or CPA? You should consult one of those guys before you go taking tax advice from me or the Orange County Register — just to be safe.)