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