I am a mineral interest owner of two wells in Payne County Oklahoma.
I received a communication in 2020 from a prior owner operator that Cantago Oil should have been sending royalty payments from the time that they became the owner/operator.
In addition I emailed a contact provided by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission which is a compliance analyst and all to no avail as she simply forwards to owner relations and no response.
I finally received a check register after my initial communication with the compliance analyst containing a check register which indicates that I should have received several checks and based on the total of the checks, I should have received a 2023 tax document, however nothing has been provided on prior years which seems odd if they were the owner operator since at least 2020. To clarify, it was initially determined by the compliance analyst that the address was entered in their system incorrectly, however was confirmed corrected in 2023.
I have submitted several emails to owner relations requesting all missing payments and relevant tax documents be mailed and in addition forwarded those to the compliance analyst.
I requested an escalation in my last communication to this individual which was a month ago and no response.
What steps are allowed to me in the state of Oklahoma in regards to obtaining these payments as I am unable to file taxes on any annual amounts received without a tax document?
Am I allowed to collect interest on any royalties not received especially since I am required to pay penalty and interest to the IRS for relevant years in which a tax document should have been received?
should a communication be sent certified requesting all inclusive of interest if applicable?
You need to send a certified mail return receipt request for all payments and interest. Also send copies of your prior requests. Keep copies of everything. Send to the Division Order department of Contango. Keep the return receipt for your paper trail.
Not an accountant, but I am wondering if you never received any income, you would not be liable for taxes until you did.
If you want to give the section, township and range and name of the wells, I can look up the production of the wells. Given what county it is in, it may not be much.
I was understanding that production reports were managed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission now. Why would Payne County be problematic relative to obtaining information on the production of the wells?
Where are the regulations in which it states penalties relative to unpaid royalties being applicable to interest if not paid within a certain time period as I could not locate any regulations within the state of Oklahoma?
There are two wells Snyder 1 and Snyder 2 and the Hildebrand Well.
Snyder 1 - NW/4 SECTION 7-18N-4E, Payne County, OK
Snyder 2 - NW/4 SECTION 7-18N-4E, Payne County, OK
Hildebrand - NW/4 SECTION 7-18 N-4E, Payne County, OK
She died of 22 years ago, however based on a forensic accounting, seems that she stopped depositing checks 7 years prior to her death as she was unable to drive and did not have online banking, so could not have deposited the checks and seems all but one company has paid to the Trust in which I am executor and heir. It seems that based on previous production reports, some companies either did not pay her royalties due or sent the unpaid funds to the Texas Comptroller Unclaimed Property.
I am in the process of locating those and will file a claim.
What is your experience relative to this industry?
You should check unclaimed property in the state where your relative lived. Also, you should search Oklahoma’s unclaimed property here:
Unclaimed Property (ok.gov)
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