Is a car accident lump sum settlement or the portion we walked away with taxable? Lump sum was reduced for attorney's fees and medical, are these deductible?

[lizstrandberg]

I suppose the first thing we need to know is our settlement for punitive damages? Our attorney did not disclose this information. Reading through all the articles, we are unclear if we received punitive damages or not.  We did not claim any of the medical fees to date.  Our award was greater than the medical costs incurred. Is this portion taxable? Again back to not knowing if our settlement is punitive or not.

[bwa]

we are unclear if we received punitive damages or not.

If in doubt, ask your attorney (no one here would know.)  As a general rule, settlements for personal injuries are not taxable.