Tax questions on LTR and title insurance settlement

[Eric Mcginn]

Hello,

I’m dreading tax season because I’ve done pretty well this year. First question, is it too late to spend my money on repairs for this tax bill?

Second question, do I have to pay taxes on a title insurance settlement? I got ~$10k because of an undisclosed easement on a property I bought. It seems to me that I'm not gaining or losing value, aka insurance is giving me only what I've lost in value because of the mistake, no more. So my thinking is that I shouldn't have to pay taxes on it. Of course, I'm not a CPA so this is probably wishful thinking. 

Thinking this will be the first year ill owe money :-(