Mineral rights are property rights to underground substances such as oil, natural gas and precious metals. While in most countries these resources belong to the government, in the U.S. they usually belong to whoever owns the surface. If you inherited mineral rights, the estate executor must transfer them into your name during probate proceedings. In 1982, in a landmark effort to keep people from being fleeced by the oil industry, the federal government passed a law establishing that royalty payments to landowners would be no less than 12.5 percent of the oil and gas sales from their leases. Oil, gas, and mineral (OGM) revenue, whether from leases or royalties, is subject to federal income tax and Pennsylvania personal income tax. However, because OGM is a natural resource and is used up as it is produced and sold, it is subject to a depletion expense, which can be deducted from royalty income.