Which are you?
Each calculator runs on the actual IRS code for that scenario, §453 for property/business sales, §468B/Childs for contingency-fee attorneys, §104(a)(2) for physical-injury plaintiffs. Pick wrong and the math is wrong.
I'm selling an appreciated asset.
Property, a business, raw land, a syndication stake, anything sitting on a big capital gain.
The problem: California stacks federal LTCG (15–20%) + NIIT (3.8%) + state ordinary income (up to 13.3%) on the gain. A $2M gain at closing can mean $700K+ to the IRS and FTB in one year.
The structure: §453 Structured Installment Sale. The carrier-funded annuity spreads the gain across 5–40 years instead of compressing it into Year 1. Same dollars, lower brackets, deferral, IRMAA control.
- Sell once, get paid in monthly checks for 5–40 years from an A-rated carrier
- IRS taxes each check as it arrives, not the whole sale up front
- Must be structured before the close of escrow
IRC §453 · §453B · Treas. Reg. §15A.453-1
I'm an attorney with a contingent fee about to hit.
Personal-injury, plaintiffs' firm, class-action lead/liaison counsel, ERISA / §1988 statutory fees, mass tort.
The problem: A big verdict drops the entire contingent fee in Year 1 as ordinary income, top bracket, all of it, gone. The 1099 in January decides whether the win actually feels like one.
The structure: Childs-validated §468B attorney fee deferral. Pre-settlement assignment of your fee obligation to a third-party carrier, paid out as a multi-year annuity. Tax Court (1994) and 11th Circuit (1996) said yes, no constructive receipt, no §83 property.
- Designed before the settlement papers are signed
- You pick the schedule; the carrier guarantees the payments
- 30+ years of settled law, never overturned
IRC §468B · Childs v. Comm'r, 103 T.C. 634 (aff'd 11th Cir.)
I have a client (or am the plaintiff) with a physical-injury settlement.
PI, wrongful-death, med mal, product liability with physical injury, premises, motor vehicle, FELA, Jones Act, workers' comp.
The opportunity: §104(a)(2) is the broadest tax exclusion in the Code, every dollar of compensatory damages for personal physical injury is excluded from gross income. Federally, by every state, clear of NIIT, clear of Medicare.
The structure: §104 Structured Settlement with a §130 qualified assignment. The lump-sum equivalent funds a carrier annuity; every payment, principal AND growth, arrives tax-free, for the entire schedule.
- Only annuity in the U.S. tax code where every penny is excluded from gross income
- Same statutory exclusion that makes the underlying recovery tax-free
- Designed before the settlement papers are signed
IRC §104(a)(2) · §130 · Rev. Rul. 79-220
Pick up the phone. Two-minute triage, no commitment.
The three structures overlap less than you'd think, once we know whether the gain is from a property sale, a contingent fee, or a personal-injury recovery, the right calculator is obvious in 60 seconds. We'll point you at the right one and tell you if it pencils for your numbers.
213-414-2808 · Call Hans