Do you have to pay taxes on money you received in a car accident settlement?

General guidelines:

If the money you receive is to replace taxable income - loss of wages, for example - then there is a taxable situation. (You would have paid tax on the income had you received it normally).

If the money is to pay for hospital bills, household assistance, auto repairs or replacements - basically things to restore you to where you were before the event, then there's no taxable event (assuming you didn't tryto take a deduction for the casualty loss - meaning you can't deduct a loss that you are reimbursed for, as no loss actually occurred).