International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) staff are NOT Tax Professionals or Certified Public Accountants. ANY ADVICE PROVIDED IS INTENDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. For professional advice, please consult with Sprintax directly. For official information, please visit the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/. 

FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes fund Medicare and Social Security benefits in the US. Contributions to FICA are typically deducted from an employee’s income and both the employee and the employer make FICA contributions. However, many nonresidents for tax purposes are exempt from making FICA contributions. Review the Sprintax blog, FICA tax explained for nonresident aliens, to determine if you are required to pay FICA taxes.
 
If you paid FICA taxes but believe you should have been exempt from these payments, you may be able to get a refund.

1. First, request a refund from your employer in writing.
2. If your employer cannot refund you, then you can apply for a refund directly with the U.S. government’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

When completing your tax return with Sprintax, Sprintax will notify you if it appears you paid FICA taxes when it wasn’t necessary to do so. You then will have the option to pay a small fee to have Sprintax generate the FICA tax refund form(s) on your behalf. This service is not included with the access code provided by ISSS. Sprintax will also provide instructions for how to file the FICA tax refund with the IRS.
 
After submitting the appropriate documentation to the IRS to request a FICA tax refund, it takes approximately 12 weeks for the IRS to process the refund. There is no option to check the status of your FICA refund online. You can call the IRS at 267-941-1000 to check the status.
 
Related Sprintax Resources:

• FICA tax explained for nonresident aliens
• How to determine FICA tax exemption for your nonresident employees?
• What is FICA and do US nonresidents have to pay it?
• Watch out for FICA as a nonresident in the US