How we calculate

Our principles

• Rules, not guesses. Calculators apply published rules — regulations, statutes, court rules and official benefit rates. Where a result depends on something we can’t know, such as a negotiation, you enter it.
• Ranges where reality is uncertain. We avoid presenting a single precise figure when the honest answer is a range.
• Sources on the page. Each calculator and guide lists its sources and the date it was last reviewed.
• Private by design. Calculations run in your browser. We don’t receive or store the numbers you enter.

Settlement take-home calculator

The take-home calculator works through a settlement in the order money is typically paid out of an attorney’s trust account:

1. Attorney fee = fee percentage × settlement (or × settlement minus costs, if your agreement says costs are repaid first).
2. Case costs as entered.
3. Medicare: when Medicare’s payments are less than the settlement, its recovery = payments − payments × (fees + costs) ÷ settlement. When payments equal or exceed the settlement, recovery = settlement − fees − costs. This follows 42 CFR § 411.37.
4. Other liens (Medicaid, health plans, hospitals and providers) as entered, less any negotiated reduction you enter.
5. Other payoffs such as a lawsuit funding balance, as entered.
6. Take-home = settlement − all of the above.

Limitations: the calculator does not model state-specific lien rules, Medicaid allocation, or plan-specific ERISA terms; it treats those as amounts you enter. It does not estimate taxes.

Keeping things current

We review calculators and state tables when the underlying rules change and at least once a year. If you find something out of date, tell us at the address on our contact page.