Settlement

You generally must pay federal tax on all income you receive but there are some exceptions when you can exclude it. For example, compensatory awards and judgments for “personal physical injuries or physical sickness” are free from federal income tax under the tax code. This includes amounts received in a lawsuit or a settlement and in a lump sum or in installments. But as taxpayers in two U.S. Tax Court cases learned, not all awards are tax-free. For example, punitive damages and awards