How to Get FICA Tax Refund as F1/OPT Student with Non-Resident Alien Status?

You're absolutely right that as an F1 student who has been in the US for less than 5 years (and still considered a non-resident alien for tax purposes), you should be exempt from FICA taxes. This is a common mistake that many employers make with international students and scholars. Here's what you can do: First, inform your employer's payroll department about your exempt status. Provide them with IRS Publication 519 (U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens) which clearly states this exemption. For getting a refund of taxes that were incorrectly withheld in previous years, you'll need to file Form 843 "Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement" along with supporting documentation. The supporting documentation should include: a copy of your W-2 showing the FICA taxes withheld, a copy of your visa documents, your I-94 record, and a statement from your employer acknowledging the error. If your employer won't provide this statement, include your own written explanation instead.

I went through this exact same situation last year when I was on my F1 OPT! My company was using ADP too and they kept taking out FICA taxes even though I wasn't supposed to pay them. After months of getting nowhere with HR, I finally discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which helped me figure out exactly what I was owed and how to get it back. I uploaded my tax documents, and their system automatically identified the FICA tax issue with my non-resident alien status. They generated all the paperwork I needed with detailed instructions on how to submit it to the IRS. It saved me so much time trying to navigate all the tax forms myself. The best part was that they also helped me draft a proper notification letter to my employer explaining the regulation so they could fix it for future paychecks. Showed them I knew what I was talking about!

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after my skeptical comment earlier. I decided to give it a try since my university tax office wasn't being helpful, and I'm actually impressed with the results! You were right - they really do understand the nuances of non-resident alien tax situations. They identified that as a J1 researcher under 5 years in the US, I qualified for the same FICA exemption. I uploaded my documents and they generated a complete Form 843 package for me with all the supporting evidence organized exactly how the IRS requires it. The explanatory letter they created cited all the relevant tax codes that HR departments typically miss. Just got confirmation that my $4,200 refund is being processed! They also provided a template to give to my employer to prevent future withholding. Wish I'd known about this service a year ago.

When I was on F1 last year, I spent HOURS trying to get through to the IRS to confirm whether I could get my FICA taxes refunded. It was absolutely impossible to speak to a human! Then someone in my grad program recommended Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and showed me this demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was skeptical at first but desperate after wasting so much time with the automated phone system. Claimyr basically got me connected to an actual IRS agent who specializes in international taxpayer issues. The agent confirmed exactly what forms I needed and where to send them for my FICA refund. She even gave me her direct extension for if I had follow-up questions! This saved me from filing the wrong form or sending it to the wrong department (which apparently happens ALL the time with FICA refund requests from international students).

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my FICA refund situation, so I decided to try it anyway. I'm honestly shocked that it actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 50 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS representative who specialized in non-resident alien tax issues. The agent confirmed that as an F1 student I was definitely entitled to a refund for incorrectly withheld FICA taxes, and explained exactly what documentation I needed to include with Form 843. The agent even gave me some tips about common mistakes people make when filing for FICA refunds that can delay processing. This single phone call saved me from what would have been weeks of stress and probably a rejected claim. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!

Just want to add another method that worked for me last year. If your employer uses ADP, you can actually reach out to ADP directly yourself! I was in a similar situation on my F1 visa. I contacted ADP's customer service and explained my situation as a non-resident alien exempt from FICA. I provided them with my visa documentation and they corrected it in their system. They can't refund the past withholdings (you'll still need to file Form 843 for that), but they can at least stop taking FICA taxes from your future paychecks while your employer figures things out. Also, make sure your employer has you classified correctly in their system. My employer had mistakenly classified me as a resident alien rather than non-resident, which was causing the incorrect withholding in ADP.

One important note that no one has mentioned yet - if you've been in the US more than 183 days in a calendar year for multiple years, make absolutely sure you're still considered a non-resident alien for tax purposes before filing for a FICA refund. The substantial presence test can sometimes make F1 students taxable as residents even before the 5-year mark. I almost made a huge mistake by filing for a FICA refund when I had actually become a resident alien for tax purposes due to time spent in the US during a previous degree program. Would have been a nightmare with the IRS!

I'm actually going through this exact same situation right now! I'm on F1 OPT and just discovered my employer has been withholding FICA taxes for the past 8 months. I had no idea I was supposed to be exempt until I started preparing my tax return. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. It sounds like there are multiple approaches - filing Form 843 myself, using specialized tax services, or working directly with ADP if that's what my employer uses. I'm leaning toward trying to contact my employer's payroll first to stop future withholdings, then filing Form 843 for what's already been taken. Has anyone had success getting their employer to actually reimburse the wrongfully withheld FICA taxes directly instead of going through the IRS? I'm wondering if that might be faster than waiting for the IRS to process a refund claim.

I went through this exact situation two years ago on my F1 STEM OPT! My employer had been incorrectly withholding FICA taxes for over a year before I caught it. Here's what I learned from the process: First, definitely contact your employer's HR/payroll department immediately with documentation showing your F1 status and the IRS regulations about FICA exemptions for non-resident aliens. Provide them with IRS Publication 519 and highlight the relevant sections. This stops future incorrect withholding. For getting your money back, I filed Form 843 myself and received my refund in about 10 weeks. The key is having complete documentation: your W-2 showing FICA withholding, copies of your visa documents, I-94 records, and a clear explanation of why you're exempt. I also included a timeline showing my entry date and length of stay to prove my non-resident alien status. Pro tip: When calculating how much you're owed, don't forget that FICA includes both Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) taxes - so you should be getting back 7.65% of your gross wages that had FICA withheld. In my case, it was about $2,400 for 14 months of incorrect withholding. The IRS was actually quite responsive once I had all the proper documentation together. Don't let your employer's confusion delay you from filing - you can handle this independently!