The Boy Scout settlement payout currently stands at 4.7% of each claimant’s allowed claim amount, with the Scouting Settlement Trust distributing funds weekly since March 3, 2026. Survivors who already received an initial 1.5% payment in the first round are now getting a supplemental 3.2%. Those with allowed claims who hadn’t received anything yet get the combined 4.7% in a single payment. Whether more money follows depends on unresolved disputes inside the trust.
What 4.7% Actually Means in Dollars
The percentage applies to your allowed claim amount, which is the dollar value the trust assigned your claim after evaluating it against a six-tier severity matrix. That number is not the same as the maximum award a tier allows.
The matrix runs from Tier 1, covering penetrative abuse by an adult perpetrator, with a base value of $600,000 and a maximum of $2.7 million, down to Tier 6 for non-contact sexual abuse, with a base value of $3,500 and a maximum of $8,500. Tiers 2 through 5 cover conduct in between, from oral sexual contact and digital penetration down through non-contact abuse like exposure or voyeurism.
Your allowed amount can move above or below the tier base depending on aggravating and mitigating factors. Age at the time of the abuse, how long it lasted, and documented long-term psychological and physical impact all feed the calculation. The abuser holding a BSA leadership role or the abuse occurring on multiple occasions pushes the number up. An expired statute of limitations or a familial relationship with the abuser pulls it down.
To put the 4.7% in practical terms: a Tier 1 claim allowed at the $600,000 base works out to about $28,200 in the current distribution, before any deductions.
The Lien Withholding That Reduces Your Current Check
If you asked the trust’s Lien Resolution Administrator to handle any government healthcare liens from Medicare or Medicaid, the trust withholds 1.7% of the distribution to cover potential lien obligations and administrative fees.
The math changes depending on which round you’re in. A claimant who already received the initial 1.5% and elected lien resolution through the trust receives 1.5% now rather than the full 3.2%, with the remaining 1.7% held back. A claimant who hadn’t received any prior distribution and chose this option receives 3.0% now instead of 4.7%. The withheld portion is released after liens are resolved.
What Comes Out Before You See the Money
Two deductions typically stand between the trust’s payment and your bank account.
The first is attorney fees. Most survivors signed contingency agreements, and typical contingency fees in cases like these run between 25% and 40% of the recovery, often after expenses. The trust’s distribution procedures did not set a public cap on attorney fees, so the percentage depends on what you signed. If your fee arrangement is unclear, ask your attorney for a written breakdown of what will be deducted from each distribution.
The second is government healthcare liens. If Medicare or Medicaid paid for treatment related to the abuse, federal law gives those programs a right to recover a portion of the settlement. You can let the trust’s Lien Resolution Administrator handle it (which triggers the 1.7% withholding described above) or resolve liens on your own. Either way, the legal obligation to reimburse is the same. Missing Medicare’s Conditional Payment Notification window of 30 calendar days results in a demand letter issued without any reduction for attorney fees or expenses, which typically increases the amount owed.
Between attorney fees, liens, and the fact that current distributions represent single-digit percentages of allowed claim values, the cash reaching survivors is substantially less than the determined award.
Will There Be More Distributions
Possibly. The Scouting Settlement Trust holds approximately $2.7 billion, and about $1.65 billion of that had been locked in escrow during appeals. The Supreme Court’s March 2026 refusal to hear a survivor group’s challenge cleared the way for those escrowed funds to be released, which is what enabled the current second distribution.
Whether additional rounds follow depends on a pending dispute over how many future abuse claims the trust must reserve money for. If the bankruptcy court accepts the trust’s lower estimate of future claims, more of the escrowed money becomes available for current claimants. If the court sides with the higher estimate from the Future Claims Representative, those funds may not materialize. Additional money could also come in from ongoing insurance litigation and asset sales, but no firm estimate exists for how much or when.
If Your Claim Hasn’t Been Processed Yet
Claimants whose claims are still being processed can apply for a $1,000 advance through the trust’s Advance Payment Program. The trust first verifies that both the claimant and the alleged abuser have a confirmed connection to scouting, then makes a preliminary evaluation to estimate a minimum likely award after mitigating factors. If that estimated award meets a certain threshold, the trust offers the advance in exchange for the claimant signing a release.
Separately, survivors who elected a flat $3,500 expedited payment on their bankruptcy ballot are on a different track and receive that amount rather than a matrix-calculated award.
How to Check Your Claim Status
You can track your claim through the Claims Processing Portal at scoutingsettlementtrust.com. If you’re represented, your attorney can access the same status information. The trust sends claims questionnaires and processing instructions through the portal as your claim moves between stages, so checking it periodically matters.
Taxes on the Payout
Most payments from the BSA trust should be tax-free under federal law, but the answer turns on what the payment compensates. Under IRC Section 104(a)(2), damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness are excluded from gross income. Sexual abuse involving physical contact generally qualifies, which means the compensation most survivors receive falls under this exclusion.
The exclusion has a boundary. Federal tax law specifically states that emotional distress alone does not count as a physical injury or physical sickness. A claim based entirely on emotional or psychological harm without any physical component could be taxable as ordinary income. One exception applies: amounts that reimburse actual medical expenses for emotional distress treatment remain excludable, provided those expenses weren’t previously deducted on a tax return.
Punitive damages are always taxable, though the trust structure doesn’t include a punitive component. The trust or the paying entity may issue a Form 1099 for the payment amount even when the payment isn’t ultimately taxable, so keep records of how your claim was categorized. If your claim involves elements beyond direct physical abuse, talk to a tax professional before filing.