Kentucky Mineral Royalty Calculator: Your Decimal Interest

Step 1: Gather your three inputs

Your net mineral acres in the tract, the unit's spacing acres, and your lease royalty rate — from your deed, your lease, and the Division of Oil and Gas unit record.

Step 2: Compute your decimal

Decimal interest = net mineral acres ÷ unit acres × royalty rate. Use the royalty calculator to check your math.

Step 3: Account for what Kentucky takes out

A 4.5% oil production (severance) tax of market value, plus Kentucky’s natural-resources severance tax on natural gas is withheld, so your net check is below the gross your decimal implies — plus any post-production deductions your lease allows.

Step 4: Verify against your Kentucky division order

The decimal on the division order must match your calculation. If it is low, the operator may have the wrong net acres, unit size, or royalty rate — reconcile it before you sign.

Step 5: Get it audited

Have the decimal and the check history verified. Valor audits Kentucky royalties stub by stub as an independent mineral manager.

What is Kentucky-specific about your royalty math

The decimal-interest formula does not change by state, but Kentucky facts change what you actually receive. Tax: Kentucky levies a 4.5% oil production (severance) tax of market value, plus Kentucky’s natural-resources severance tax on natural gas, withheld before or alongside your royalty, so your net is below the gross your decimal implies. Timing: Kentucky law generally requires operators to begin paying proceeds once title is marketable in the owner's name, and to pay on a regular cycle thereafter, and like most producing states, Kentucky can impose statutory interest on royalty proceeds held past the period the law allows — confirm the current Kentucky rate. Unit size: the acres you divide by depend on how Kentucky forms drilling units — Kentucky has statutory pooling under Ky. Rev. Stat. §353.630 — the Division of Oil and Gas orders pooling on a 51%-of-interests consent threshold per tract, with a separate deep-well pooling track under §§353.651–353.652, so an unleased Kentucky owner can be pooled — which decides whether your tract stands alone or sits inside a larger pooled unit (a bigger denominator, and a smaller decimal on more total production). Verification: spacing and production are regulated by the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas (Energy and Environment Cabinet), whose records confirm the unit acres in your decimal, and your Kentucky division order should state a decimal that matches net mineral acres ÷ unit acres × royalty rate. If your Kentucky division-order decimal does not match your own calculation, do not sign until it is reconciled; an incorrect decimal underpays you every month it goes uncorrected.

Kentucky facts at a glance

The Kentucky-specific facts that shape this situation — a citable reference. General guidance as of September 2026; confirm specifics with a CPA or attorney.