Louisiana Department of Revenue

Severance

Home : FAQs : General FAQ : Severance

What is the severance tax rate for natural gas?

Louisiana Revised Statute 47:633(9) provides that the tax rate for natural gas and equivalent gas volumes of natural gasoline, casinghead gasoline, and other natural gas liquids including ethane, methane, butane or propane is per 1,000 cubic feet at a base pressure of 15.025 pounds per square inch absolute and at 60 degrees Fahrenheit is adjusted annually on July 1 and may never be less than 7 cents.

The tax rates for the current years are as follows:

Full-Rate	Per MCF
7/07 through 6/08	$.269
7/08 through 6/09	$.288
7/09 through 6/10	$.331
7/10 through 6/11	$.164
7/11 through 6/12	$.164
7/12 through 6/13	$.148
Incapable oil well gas	$.03
Incapable gas well gas	$.013

When the natural gas severance tax rate is adjusted annually on July 1st, which month is the first month affected by the change?

The new natural gas severance tax rate applies to July gas production, which is reported and the tax paid on or before September 25th.

What are the Parish Codes that need to be provided on the various Severance Tax reporting forms?

The codes assigned to the various parishes are:

CODE	PARISH	CODE	PARISH	CODE	PARISH
01	ACADIA	23	IBERIA	45	ST CHARLES
02	ALLEN	24	IBERVILLE	46	ST HELENA
03	ASCENSION	25	JACKSON	47	ST JAMES
04	ASSUMPTION	26	JEFFERSON	48	ST JOHN
05	AVOYELLES	27	JEFFERSON DAVIS	49	ST LANDRY
06	BEAUREGARD	28	LAFAYETTE	50	ST MARTIN
07	BIENVILLE	29	LAFOURCHE	51	ST MARY
08	BOSSIER	30	LASALLE	52	ST TAMMANY
09	CADDO	31	LINCOLN	53	TANGIPAHOA
10	CALCASIEU	32	LIVINGSTON	54	TENSAS
11	CALDWELL	33	MADISON	55	TERREBONNE
12	CAMERON	34	MOREHOUSE	56	UNION
13	CATAHOULA	35	NATCHITOCHES	57	VERMILION
14	CLAIBORNE	36	ORLEANS	58	VERNON
15	CONCORDIA	37	OUACHITA	59	WASHINGTON
16	DESOTO	38	PLAQUEMINES	60	WEBSTER
17	EAST BATON ROUGE	39	POINTE COUPEE	61	WEST BATON ROUGE
18	EAST CARROLL	40	RAPIDES	62	WEST CARROLL
19	EAST FELICIANA	41	RED RIVER	63	WEST FELICIANA
20	EVANGELINE	42	RICHLAND	64	WINN
21	FRANKLIN	43	SABINE	65	UNKNOWN
22	GRANT	44	ST BERNARD

Who is responsible for paying the oilfield site restoration fee?

Louisiana Revised Statute 30:87 imposes the oilfield site restoration fee. The fee for full rate oil and gas production is one and one-half cents per barrel on crude oil and condensate or three-tenths of one cent per 1,000 cubic feet on natural gas and casing head gas. The fee for reduced rate oil and gas production such as stripper wells and incapable wells is in the same proportion to the oil or gas full rate production fees as the reduced rate severance tax is to the full rate severance tax.

The oilfield site restoration fee must be paid by the operator of record. Louisiana Administrative Code 61:I.5301.E.3 provides that “Every operator of record of producing oil and/or gas wells must submit a return and make payments of the fees imposed by R.S. 30:87. Purchasers of oil and/or gas may make payment for the operator of record and their respective working-interest owners."