topic Wrongful Death Settelment in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Wrongful Death Settelment

MTB50 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:58:01 GMT

Do you need to report monies from a Wrongful Death Settlement to the IRS?

Re: Wrongful Death Settelment

maureencpa — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 20:40:54 GMT

No, the IRS will not tax lawsuit settlement proceeds that a court awards for physical illness or injury, these are non-taxable and include wrongful death settlements.

It's recommended that you review and compare any legal documents received to the information found at:

https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/tax-implications-of-settlements-and-judgments

and determine whether payment includes other item such as punitive damages which may be taxable.

source: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/i-recieved-a-portion-of-the-settlement-in-a-wrongful-death-lawsuit-how-do-i-report-that/00/776550

Re: Wrongful Death Settelment

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 20:45:02 GMT

Hello MTB50,

Thank you for participating in the Ask the Experts Event. As to your question, according to this link, punitive damages awarded for wrongful death are excludable from federal taxable income (see 6th paragraph under the Analysis section).

I hope that helps.