Lease Bonus
A one-time, up-front payment to the mineral owner for signing an oil and gas lease, usually quoted per net mineral acre.
The lease bonus is the cash an operator pays the mineral owner up front to sign an oil and gas lease. It is quoted per net mineral acre — so 40 net acres at a stated per-acre rate sets the check. The bonus is yours to keep regardless of whether a well is ever drilled.
Bonus amounts swing hard with location and timing. Acreage in a hot part of the Permian or in active Oklahoma plays commands far more than acreage in a quiet county, and rates rise and fall with commodity prices and nearby drilling activity. There is no fixed schedule; the number is negotiated.
Bonus is generally treated as ordinary income for tax purposes, so talk to a CPA. For how bonus fits into overall value, see our mineral rights value guide.