A. Any person required to make payment of tax pursuant to Section 7-29-7 or 7-29-8 NMSA 1978 shall make the advance payment required by this section.

B. For the purposes of this section:

(1) "advance payment" means the payment required to be made by this section in addition to any oil and gas severance tax, penalty or interest due; and

(2) "average tax" means the aggregate amount of tax, net of any refunds or credits, paid by a person during the twelve-month period ending March 31 pursuant to the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act divided by the number of months during that period for which the person made payment.

C. Each year, prior to July 1, each person required to pay tax pursuant to the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act shall compute the average tax for the period ending March 31 of that year. The average tax calculated for a year shall be used during the twelve-month period beginning with July of that year and ending with June of the following year as the basis for making the advance payments required by Subsection D of this section.

D. Every month, beginning with July 1991, every person required to pay tax in a month pursuant to the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act shall pay, in addition to any amount of tax, interest or penalty due, an advance payment in an amount equal to the applicable average tax, except:

(1) if the person is making a final return under the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act, no advance payment pursuant to this subsection is due for that return; and

(2) as provided in Subsection F of this section.

E. Every month, beginning with tax payments due in August 1991, every person required to pay tax pursuant to the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act may claim a credit equal to the amount of advance payment made in the previous month, except as provided in Subsection F of this section.

F. If, in any month, a person is not required to pay tax pursuant to the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act, that person is not required to pay the advance payment and may not claim a credit pursuant to Subsection E of this section provided that, in any succeeding month when the person has liability under the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act, the person may claim a credit for any advance payment made and not credited.

G. In the event that the date by which a person is required to pay the tax pursuant to the Oil and Gas Severance Tax Act is accelerated to a date earlier than the twenty-fifth day of the second month following the month of production, the advance payment provision contained in this section is null and void and any money held as advance payments shall be credited to the taxpayers' accounts.

History: Laws 1991, ch. 9, § 36.