Due to an oversight and a misplaced tax statement we failed to pay our property taxes last October when they were due. Last week, after we discovered the error, I called the Island County Treasurer’s Office to learn what the penalty for late payment would be. Imagine my surprise to hear that we owed more than $200 in late fees! The county imposes an 8 percent penalty after one month past the due date, and an additional 1 percent for each month after that.

By contrast, we also missed the tax payment on a rental house in Arizona and the penalty was about 1 percent for the same number of months. Quite a difference. And neither treasurer’s office notified us of the missed payment. Perhaps they were waiting to file a tax lien. So, lesson learned — when it comes to property tax payments, the county is not your friend.

James K. Johnston, Ed.D.

Oak Harbor