Dr. David Dao, who received an undisclosed settlement from United Airlines after being violently dragged off a flight earlier this month, won’t be roughed up by the Internal Revenue Service: He won’t owe any taxes on the payout.
The IRS allows for the tax-free treatment of personal-injury settlements if they’re awarded for personal physical injuries. Dao, who had boarded a Louisville, Kentucky-bound flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, sustained a concussion, broken nose and lost two teeth during his forcible removal by police employed by the city’s Department of Aviation on April 9, according to his lawyers. Payouts just for emotional distress aren’t tax-free under IRS rules.
