Federal Takings Payouts: What the Judgment Fund Paid for Taking Property, FY2009–FY2025
Original analysis of 694 records from the U.S. Treasury, FY2009–FY2025. Published October 10, 2026.
We counted every Judgment Fund payment that Treasury codes as a Fifth Amendment taking or inverse condemnation from fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2025, and ranked them by agency, year and size.
Key findings on federal takings payments
The federal government paid $813.9 million from the Judgment Fund in 616 payments coded as Fifth Amendment takings from fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2025, and 76.5% of it ($622.8 million) was paid in cases against the Surface Transportation Board. The board's trail-use orders under the National Trails System Act are the basis of rails-to-trails takings claims. Our total matches Treasury's own figure to within 0.04%.
- $814MJudgment Fund takings payments, FY2009–FY2025
- 76.5%Share paid in Surface Transportation Board cases
- 8.9%Attorney fees within takings-coded payments
One agency dominates
Cases against the Surface Transportation Board account for $622.8 million in 463 payments. The Department of Agriculture follows with $91.6 million.
One year stands out
Fiscal 2020 alone accounts for $270.1 million, or 33.2% of the period total. The two largest payments that year add up to $175.1 million.
A few large payments carry the total
Only 15 payments of $10,000,000 or more make up 51.9% of all dollars paid. The median payment is $196,961.
Attorney fees and other litigation expenses
Attorney fees account for $72.6 million, or 8.9% of the dollars in takings-coded payments. Separate payments without a takings code add $45.4 million in attorney fees and costs and $29.4 million in other litigation expenses.
Checked against Treasury
Our total is 0.04% below the sum Treasury's own data service reports, because one payment of $337,253 appears twice in Treasury's data and we count it once.
Which Federal Agencies Pay the Most for Takings
Treasury records the agency against which each claim was filed. We grouped sub-agencies under their department.
The Surface Transportation Board ranks first with $622.8 million (76.5%), ahead of the Department of Agriculture with $91.6 million and the Department of the Army (incl. Army Corps of Engineers) with $61.2 million. All agencies other than the board together account for $191.1 million.
Payments went out on behalf of 11 departments and independent agencies, plus a few joint payments that name more than one department. The Army Corps of Engineers is counted under the Department of the Army and the Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture. The CSV keeps the agency names exactly as Treasury lists them.
Rails-to-trails claims arise when a rail corridor is kept for possible future rail use and turned into a trail under the National Trails System Act instead of being abandoned. Landowners whose land would otherwise have reverted to them sue in the Court of Federal Claims, and Treasury lists the Surface Transportation Board as the defendant agency. The ranking reflects dollars paid, not how much land each agency affects or the size of its programs.
Takings payments by agency, FY2009–FY2025
- Surface Transportation Board$622.8 million463 payments · median $166,207
- Department of Agriculture$91.6 million42 payments · median $989,276
- Department of the Army (incl. Army Corps of Engineers)$61.2 million26 payments · median $257,500
- Department of the Navy$19.3 million65 payments · median $349,868
- Department of Transportation$12.6 million2 payments · median $6,305,237
- Joint payments (more than one department)$1.8 million4 payments · median $250,000
- Department of the Interior$1.8 million5 payments · median $282,821
- Department of Homeland Security$1.3 million2 payments · median $663,864
All agencies
- Department of the Air Force$978,2434 payments · median $250,000
- NASA$342,6141 payment · median $342,614
- Department of Justice$115,0001 payment · median $115,000
- General Services Administration$45,0001 payment · median $45,000
How Federal Takings Payments Changed Over Time
Yearly totals depend on when a few large cases are paid, not on a steady trend.
Fiscal 2020 is the peak at $270.1 million. Fiscal 2025, the latest year in Treasury's report, reached $40.7 million in 55 payments. The yearly average over the period is $47.9 million.
Each payment is assigned to the Treasury report year in which it appears, which runs October through September; a payment listed in two report years counts once, in the fiscal year of its payment date. Fiscal 2009 through 2012 show only 12 takings payments worth $5.3 million. That low count may partly reflect how agencies coded payments in those years, so we do not read the jump in fiscal 2013 as a change in the number of takings. The series ends with fiscal 2025; payments from fiscal 2026 are not yet in Treasury's annual report.
Takings payments by fiscal year
- 2009$590,0001 payment · median $590,000
- 2010$1.1 million4 payments · median $144,122
- 2011$2.2 million5 payments · median $250,000
- 2012$1.5 million2 payments · median $748,145
- 2013$45.1 million42 payments · median $109,342
- 2014$14.1 million8 payments · median $1,471,807
- 2015$42.3 million29 payments · median $209,000
- 2016$46.2 million49 payments · median $372,200
- 2017$101.0 million64 payments · median $180,000
- 2018$56.4 million85 payments · median $50,000
- 2019$8.7 million15 payments · median $208,428
- 2020$270.1 million52 payments · median $566,294
- 2021$76.4 million51 payments · median $471,602
- 2022$18.5 million46 payments · median $154,412
- 2023$55.9 million66 payments · median $141,129
All fiscal years
- 2024$33.2 million42 payments · median $121,502
- 2025$40.7 million55 payments · median $141,077
Fiscal 2025 = October 2024 through September 2025.
How Large Are Federal Takings Payments
80.8% of payments are under $1,000,000, but most dollars come from a handful of large ones.
35.4% of payments are under $100,000, while 15 payments of $10,000,000 or more account for 51.9% of the dollars. The ten largest payments make up 44.4% of the total.
A single Treasury control number can cover several payments. The 616 payments belong to 452 Treasury control numbers, which we report as cases. The largest single payment was $89.7 million, made in fiscal 2020 in a case against the Surface Transportation Board.
Takings payments by payment size, FY2009–FY2025
| Size | Payments | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 or more | 15 | $422.7M | 51.9% |
| $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 | 103 | $282.2M | 34.7% |
| $100,000 to $999,999 | 280 | $103.0M | 12.7% |
| Under $100,000 | 218 | $6.0M | 0.7% |
How Much of Takings Payouts Goes to Attorney Fees
Federal law lets landowners who win a takings case against the United States recover their reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees.
Principal, the compensation for the property, is $716.3 million (88.0%). Attorney fees inside takings payments come to $72.6 million (8.9%), and costs to $3.5 million.
231 of the 616 takings payments (37.5%) include an attorney fee component. Interest accounts for $21.6 million. Together, attorney fees and costs make up 9.3% of the takings total.
Treasury also records 78 payments that carry no takings code but either cite 42 U.S.C. § 4654 or cite inverse condemnation as the basis of their attorney fees. We do not add them to the headline total. They contain $45.4 million in attorney fees and costs, and $29.4 million recorded as principal in 10 payments whose principal citation is 42 U.S.C. § 4654, described in Treasury's data as “Litigation Expenses In Inverse Condemnation Cases”. Treasury defines the principal citation as the statute under which the amount is payable, and that statute reimburses reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, including attorney, appraisal and engineering fees. We therefore count this principal as other litigation expenses: not as compensation for the property, and not as attorney fees, because the data do not show how much of it went to attorneys.
Counting the separate payments as well, attorney fees make up 12.7% of the $888.6 million paid in takings-coded and separate payments.
Takings payments by component, plus separately paid litigation expenses, FY2009–FY2025
| Component | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Principal (compensation for the property) | $716.3M | 88.0% |
| Attorney fees | $72.6M | 8.9% |
| Interest | $21.6M | 2.7% |
| Costs | $3.5M | 0.4% |
| Separate payments not coded as takings: attorney fees and costs | $45.4M | 5.6% |
| Separate payments cited to 42 U.S.C. 4654: other litigation expenses recorded as principal | $29.4M | 3.6% |
Share = percent of the $813.9 million coded as takings. The two rows for separate payments are shown relative to the same base but are not part of it.
Download the Data and Cite This Study
Every table on this page as a CSV file, free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
- Federal takings payments by component, plus separately paid litigation expenses, FY2009-FY2025Principal, attorney fees, interest and costs within takings payments, plus separate payments not coded as takings (attorney fees and costs, and other litigation expenses recorded as principal under 42 U.S.C. 4654), each as a percent of the takings total. · 6 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- Federal takings payments from the Judgment Fund by agency, FY2009-FY2025Totals per department or independent agency, ranked by dollars paid, with shares in percent and the agency names exactly as listed by Treasury. · 12 rows · CSV, 2 KB
- Federal takings payments from the Judgment Fund by fiscal year, FY2009-FY2025Payments, cases, total, median and components per Treasury report year (a payment listed in two report years is counted once, in the fiscal year of its payment date), with the dollars paid in Surface Transportation Board cases; the two separate_payments columns cover payments not coded as takings: attorney fees and costs, and other litigation expenses recorded as principal in payments cited to 42 U.S.C. 4654. · 17 rows · CSV, 2 KB
- Federal takings payments by payment size, FY2009-FY2025Number of takings payments and dollars paid in four size bands, each with its share in percent. · 4 rows · CSV, 1 KB
How to cite
Goldberg, L. (2026). Federal Takings Payouts — Judgment Fund payments for Fifth Amendment takings by agency, fiscal year and size (FY2009–FY2025) [Data set]. Settlement Insight. https://settlementinsight.com/research/federal-takings-payouts
BibTeX
@dataset{goldberg_2026_federal_takings_payouts,
author = {Goldberg, Leonard},
title = {Federal Takings Payouts --- Judgment Fund payments for Fifth Amendment takings by agency, fiscal year and size (FY2009--FY2025)},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Settlement Insight},
url = {https://settlementinsight.com/research/federal-takings-payouts}
}How We Measured
Checked against published figures
- Judgment Fund payments coded '5 AMND TAK' (Fifth Amendment taking/inverse condemnation), FY2009-FY2025, total confirmed payments (ours: one duplicated payment counted once): published $814,241,678, our count $813,904,425 (0.04% apart).Judgment Fund: Annual Report to Congress (Treasury Fiscal Data API, aggregated by the API)
- Takings payments in Treasury report year FY2020 (Oct 2019-Sep 2020), total confirmed payments: published $270,121,385, our count $270,121,385 (exact match).Judgment Fund: Annual Report to Congress (Treasury Fiscal Data API, aggregated by the API)
- Takings payments with the Surface Transportation Board as defendant agency, FY2009-FY2025 (ours: one duplicated payment counted once): published $623,138,819, our count $622,801,566 (0.05% apart).Judgment Fund: Annual Report to Congress (Treasury Fiscal Data API, aggregated by the API)
Full method and limits of the data
A payment counts as a takings payment when Treasury's principal citation code is 5 AMND TAK, described as 5th Amendment Taking/Inverse Condemnation. We did not reclassify payments under other codes, such as breach of contract, even when the defendant agency is the same. A payment listed in two Treasury report years with the same payment ID, amount and payment date is counted once, in the fiscal year of its payment date; this applies to one takings payment ($337,253) and one separate payment ($2,246,594). A further 78 payments carry no takings code but either cite 42 U.S.C. § 4654 as their principal citation or, with no principal citation, cite inverse condemnation as the basis of their attorney fees. They are reported separately, split into attorney fees and costs ($45.4 million) and other litigation expenses recorded as principal ($29.4 million, all in the 10 payments cited to 42 U.S.C. § 4654), and are not part of the headline total.
Totals use the confirmed payment amount, which Treasury defines as the total amount paid to the claimant, including some or all of principal, attorney fees, costs and interest. Attorney fee shares are computed only from the attorney fee field. Treasury defines the principal citation as the legal statute under which the amount is payable; for the 10 separate payments cited to 42 U.S.C. § 4654, that statute provides for reimbursement of litigation costs and expenses, so their principal counts as other litigation expenses, neither as compensation nor as attorney fees. Sub-agencies are grouped under their department (Army Corps of Engineers under the Army, Forest Service under Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and Fish and Wildlife Service under Interior). Cases are counted as distinct Treasury control numbers.
Calibration: Treasury's Fiscal Data API sums the same dataset for the takings code at $814,241,678. Our total is 0.04% lower because of the one duplicated payment of $337,253. Treasury's fiscal 2020 total matches ours to the cent. For payments listed only as Surface Transportation Board, Treasury's total differs from our $622,801,566 by the same duplicated payment; our board total in the ranking ($622,811,670) also includes $10,105 that Treasury lists under the board's name twice in one field.
What this data cannot tell you
- The data cover only payments from the Judgment Fund. Takings compensation paid from an agency's own appropriations, land bought through condemnation proceedings that agencies file themselves, and claims the government won or that are still pending are not included.
- The takings code is assigned by the agencies and Treasury. Some takings payments may be recorded under other codes, and the low counts in fiscal 2009 through 2012 may reflect coding rather than fewer cases.
- Treasury does not label payments as rails-to-trails cases. We describe payments in cases against the Surface Transportation Board in that way because the board's trail-use orders are the basis of those claims, but individual payments may concern other matters.
- Totals are not adjusted for inflation or for the size of each agency's land holdings or programs, and the data do not show how many acres or properties were involved.
- Treasury's component fields do not always add up to the confirmed payment. In fiscal 2024 one takings payment of $468.12 lists $137,064 in interest, and 10 payments exceed their listed components by a combined $87,580. Summed components therefore exceed the headline total by $49,484; we report the fields as Treasury publishes them.
- Treasury notes that one disbursement can satisfy several claimants and then appears under several payment IDs. We count each payment ID as one payment, so payment counts can be higher than the number of disbursements.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the federal government pay for takings claims?
From fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2025 the Judgment Fund paid $813.9 million in 616 payments coded as Fifth Amendment takings or inverse condemnation. That is an average of $47.9 million per year, although single years range widely.
Who pays federal takings judgments?
Judgments and settlements in takings cases against the United States are generally paid from the Judgment Fund, a permanent, indefinite appropriation for final judgments not otherwise provided for by another source of funds. Payments an agency makes from its own funds are not in this data. Treasury records the agency against which each claim was filed as the defendant agency.
How much has the government paid in rails-to-trails takings cases?
Treasury does not label payments as rails-to-trails cases, so the data give no exact rails-to-trails total. The closest measure is takings payments in cases against the Surface Transportation Board, the agency whose trail-use orders give rise to rails-to-trails claims: $622.8 million in 463 payments from fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2025, or 76.5% of all takings payments. Some of those payments may concern other matters.
Can landowners recover attorney fees in a federal takings case?
Yes. Under 42 U.S.C. § 4654(c), a landowner who wins a takings judgment or settlement against the United States is reimbursed for reasonable costs and expenses, including attorney, appraisal and engineering fees. In the Treasury data, attorney fees make up $72.6 million, or 8.9% of takings-coded payments; separate payments without a takings code add $45.4 million in attorney fees and costs and $29.4 million in other litigation expenses.
What is the largest federal takings payment?
The largest single payment in the period was $89.7 million, paid in fiscal 2020 in a case against the Surface Transportation Board. Fiscal 2020 is also the peak year with $270.1 million in total.
What is the typical federal takings payment?
The median takings payment is $196,961. 35.4% of payments are under $100,000, while 15 payments of $10,000,000 or more account for 51.9% of the dollars.
Sources
- Judgment Fund: Annual Report to Congress (dataset) — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
- Judgment Fund: Annual Report to Congress (Fiscal Data API, takings code totals) — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
- Judgment Fund: Annual Report to Congress — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
- About the Judgment Fund — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
- Fiscal Data dataset metadata: Judgment Fund field definitions — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
- 42 U.S. Code § 4654 - Litigation expenses — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Opinion in a rails-to-trails takings case, U.S. Court of Federal Claims — U.S. Court of Federal Claims via GovInfo
- Independent analysis. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and not affiliated with any agency named here. Analysis by Leonard Goldberg, Editor. How we work: methodology, our data.
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