I am really new at this and found out I inherited these mineral rights.
I signed a lease with Tall City operations. I got my first bonus check.
Now I have received my first payment. It was quite shocking. I guess I’m going to quit bitching about the cost of gas.
My question is how often do they give you a payment? If I get more of these its going to change my lifestyle completely. I also need to figure out taxes and I have no idea. Is there a way to have them taken out as you go?
Usually, checks are issued once a month (as long as they are larger than a minimum - one of my payors doesn’t issue until cumulative is over $100).
The first check you received might be larger than normal Tall City had been holding the amounts that were due to you until they received the information they needed to make payment. You should be able to look on remittance detail to see if you can determine what periods the payment covers. You can also contact their owner relations department via website or phone and they should be able to answer your questions. You will likely need to provide them with your Owner Number.
Royalties are taxable (although there are various deductions that can reduce the taxable amount). They may be able to deduct federal withholding (not sure though, another question for their owner relations department). You will probably owe property taxes on your mineral interests also.
Be sure and get with your accountant about how to plan for taxes. If you got a big check this year, then you need to see what the IRS will expect for next year (even though with reduced volumes, your checks may be much smaller).
Oil and gas leases operate differently from leases most people are used to. If there is no production and sales there is no royalty to be paid. Aside from the reasons other provided your, you might not be getting paid because the company decided not to drill or that production has not reached the level that would trigger payment to you.
If they did not know who to pay or have all of the info necessary to pay you (SSN, address, etc) - they would just hold the funds until they received that info and could issue a check.
At end of year your gonna get a 1099, for any amount you received. That income is added to your regular income for the year. So you might owe taxes, instead of getting anything back. Congrats and enjoy.