Free reconciler
Does my 1099 match my royalty checks?
Reconcile
The amount in Box 2 of the form the payor sent you.
Severance tax for the year, added up. Blank adds back the Texas rate.
Most of your checks are
Your ledger
Checks you were paid in 2025
Type each check as it was deposited, after tax. Add checks from the same month together. Leave a month blank if you got nothing.
The reconciliation
Box 2 is one check short: the May check looks left out
Without the May check (about $1,751.10 before tax) your checks come to the $21,238.92 on the form. The 1099 reports what the payor paid during the calendar year, so ask the payor whether that check was paid under a different name, tax ID or date.
- Your 12 checksafter tax
- $21,932.48
- Tax added back at the Texas rate
- +$1,057.54
- Box 2 should be about
- $22,990.02
- Box 2 says
- $21,238.92
- Difference
- −$1,751.10
The circled month is the one to ask about.
This is a sample year
If Box 2 does not match, ask the payor
- For a payment history for 2025: every check, its date and its amount.
- Whether Box 2 is the amount before tax. The IRS says to report royalties before severance and other taxes withheld.
- Whether a check was filed under another name, tax ID or year.
How the check works
Your checks are after tax and Box 2 is before it. So the tool adds the tax back to what you were paid and compares the total with the form. If the two disagree, it tries the usual explanations, one at a time.
The formula
- Checks
- the twelve checks you type, added up
- Add the tax back
- your tax withheld, or checks ÷ (1 − Texas rate): 4.6% oil, 7.5% gas
- Compare
- the total against Box 2, within about a dollar
- If it differs
- drop each check in turn and see whether one is missing from the form
Box 2 is royalties from oil, gas and other mineral properties before severance and other taxes withheld and paid (IRS instructions for Form 1099-MISC).
When Box 2 does not match
- One check short. A check paid near January 1 can land on the other year’s form. Ask which date the payor used for it.
- Box 2 equals your deposits. The payor reported the amount after tax. The IRS instructions say to report before tax, so ask for a correction.
- Box 2 is higher than the tax explains. Look for a check you did not enter, or a second lease or payor under the same name.
The state record can tell you whether the money was owed. Upload a statement and we compare each month with what the state says the lease sold.
Questions owners ask
Common questions
Short answers. Sources are at the end of the page.
What is Box 2 on a 1099-MISC?
Royalties. The IRS tells the payor to enter gross royalty payments of $10 or more from oil, gas or other mineral properties, before reduction for severance and other taxes that may have been withheld and paid. Box 2 is therefore the amount before tax, not the amount you were deposited.
Why is Box 2 higher than the checks I deposited?
Because your checks are after the severance tax your operator withheld, and Box 2 is before it. Add the tax back and the two should agree. Texas takes 4.6% of the value of oil and 7.5% of the value of gas, so Box 2 runs roughly 5% above your deposits for oil and 8% for gas. If your stubs show the tax in dollars, type it and the tool uses your figure instead of the rate.
Which year does a check belong to?
The year the payor paid it. A payor reports what it paid during the calendar year, so a check for a December sale that is mailed in February is on the next year's form. If Box 2 is short by about one check, look at the checks that came near January 1.
I got a 1099-NEC, or the payment is in Box 1. Is that wrong?
Not necessarily. The IRS says payments for a working interest in an oil or gas property go in Box 1a of Form 1099-NEC, not in Box 2 of the 1099-MISC, and surface royalties go in Box 1 of the 1099-MISC. Only mineral royalties belong in Box 2. If you own a working interest or lease your surface, some of your income will be on those forms.
I was paid but got no 1099. Why?
The IRS asks payors to report royalties of $10 or more. A payor that paid you less than that in the year has no form to send. If you were paid more and received nothing, ask the payor for its tax reporting contact and check that it has your current name and address.
What do I do if Box 2 is wrong?
Ask the payor for a payment history for the year with every check, its date and its amount, then compare it with your ledger. If the form is wrong, ask for a corrected 1099-MISC. Keep the stubs, which are your record of what was paid and withheld.
Free check
Rather have us check the statement?
Upload it. We compare every month with the Railroad Commission record and give you the questions to ask.