Where the USVSST Fund's Money Actually Comes From
A Plain-English Guide

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What the USVSST Fund is

Congress created the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism (USVSST) Fund by statute in 2015 to compensate a specific group of people: U.S. persons who hold a final judgment from a United States district court against a foreign state sponsor of terrorism, plus the 1979-1981 Tehran embassy hostages and certain of their spouses and children. The Fund is run by a Special Master, currently Mary Patrice Brown, under 34 U.S.C. § 20144.

Where the money actually comes from

The honest answer is on the Fund's own website. In its words, "aside from certain specific and limited appropriations, all funding for the USVSST Fund comes from proceeds of federal enforcement actions." The governing statute, 34 U.S.C. § 20144(e)(2), directs that certain forfeitures, penalties, and fines paid to the United States be transferred into the Fund.

Not every enforcement action counts. To feed the Fund, a case has to arise from a violation of U.S. sanctions law, either the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) or the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), or a related offense tied to doing business with or on behalf of a state sponsor of terrorism. When a case meets that test, the Fund calls it a "qualifying case." For criminal matters, all of the qualifying funds go into the Fund; for civil matters resolved on or after November 21, 2019, seventy-five percent does.

Justice Department attorneys, not the Special Master, decide which case proceeds qualify, and the government has to have collected the money before any transfer happens. The Fund publishes the running list on its Qualifying Cases page and its balance on the Fund Balance page. If you want the authoritative answer to "will more money reach the Fund," those two pages are where families should look, not the headlines.

How the money reaches families

The Special Master pays claims in rounds. When enough money is available, she authorizes a distribution and pays eligible claims pro rata, meaning a proportional share of what is available, not the full judgment. By statute, each distribution is split in half: one half for 9/11-related victims and one half for all other eligible victims. In the sixth round, the Fund allocated $2.825 billion, divided evenly between the two pools. Awards are also subject to a per-claim cap that treats compensatory damages above $20 million as $20 million.

Across all six rounds to date, the Fund reports that it has paid or allocated more than $10 billion to eligible claimants. That is the real, documented number, and it accumulated gradually, one round at a time.

What this means for 9/11 families

For families who lost someone on September 11, this is not abstract. Their eligibility rests on the final federal judgments entered against Iran in the consolidated September 11 terrorism litigation (MDL 1570). Because the statute reserves half of every distribution for 9/11-related claimants, and because recoveries from qualifying cases against a state sponsor of terrorism can flow into the Fund, those judgments are the mechanism that can turn into a real payment over time.

Be careful with predictions

The Fund is candid about the uncertainty. In its own FAQs, it notes there is "no way to precisely predict the number of eligible claims or the total amounts to be deposited" over time, and therefore no way to predict what percentage of claims will be paid before the Fund sunsets in 2039. Anyone promising a specific dollar figure, a specific seizure, or a specific payout date is guessing. We would rather tell you what is documented and let you plan around what is knowable.

A note on taxes

How a USVSST payment is treated for taxes is not one-size-fits-all. It depends on the character of the underlying award. The Fund does not issue a Form 1099, and its Special Master recommends directing any tax question to a tax professional. We agree: before you assume a distribution is or isn't taxable, review your specific situation with your CPA or tax advisor.

Practical steps for families

1. Keep your claim current. The Fund asks every claimant to update it on any change to the judgment and on compensation received from other sources. Keeping your file clean is what protects your place in future rounds.
2. Track the official pages, not the headlines. The Fund's Important Dates, Qualifying Cases, and Fund Balance pages are the real signal on whether and when more money is coming.
3. Plan around what's known. Fit any USVSST payment into your broader plan without assuming an amount or a date, and confirm the tax treatment with your CPA.