Virginia 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 Gas and Oil 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 Virginia takes out

No statewide severance tax — instead a local (county or city) gas severance license tax of up to 1% of gross receipts under Va. Code §58.1-3712 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 Virginia 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 Virginia royalties stub by stub as an independent mineral manager.

What is Virginia-specific about your royalty math

The decimal-interest formula does not change by state, but Virginia facts change what you actually receive. Tax: Virginia levies no statewide severance tax — instead a local (county or city) gas severance license tax of up to 1% of gross receipts under Va. Code §58.1-3712, withheld before or alongside your royalty, so your net is below the gross your decimal implies. Timing: Virginia 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, Virginia can impose statutory interest on royalty proceeds held past the period the law allows — confirm the current Virginia rate. Unit size: the acres you divide by depend on how Virginia forms drilling units — the Virginia Gas and Oil Board administers compulsory (forced) pooling under the Virginia Gas and Oil Act (Va. Code §45.2-1620), so an unleased Virginia 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 Virginia Division of Gas and Oil (DGO) of the Department of Energy, with the Virginia Gas and Oil Board, whose records confirm the unit acres in your decimal, and your Virginia division order should state a decimal that matches net mineral acres ÷ unit acres × royalty rate. If your Virginia 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.

Virginia facts at a glance

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