Nonresident aliens are generally subject to FICA taxes on their U.S. wages, but there are two important exemptions. If you are in the United States on an F, J, M, or Q visa and working within the purpose of that visa, your wages are exempt from the 6.2% Social Security tax and the 1.45% Medicare tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 3121(b)(19). If you are working in the U.S. temporarily and your home country has a Social Security Totalization Agreement with the United States, you can also be exempt. When FICA is withheld from wages that should have been exempt, you can recover it, first by asking your employer and then, if that fails, by filing Form 843 with the IRS.
The Student and Exchange Visitor Exemption
The core exemption for nonresident aliens sits in IRC Section 3121(b)(19). It excludes from FICA any wages paid to a nonresident alien who is temporarily in the U.S. on an F, J, M, or Q visa, as long as the work carries out the purpose of that visa, such as studying, teaching, training, or taking part in a cultural exchange.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3121 – Definitions
For F-1 students, covered work includes on-campus employment, Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT), and economic hardship employment. Each is treated as tied to the student’s reason for being in the country.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519, US Tax Guide for Aliens
The exemption lasts only while you are still a nonresident alien for tax purposes. Students on F, J, or Q visas can exclude their days of presence from the substantial presence test for up to five calendar years. Teachers and trainees on J or Q visas can exclude their days for up to two calendar years. During those periods you are treated as a nonresident alien even if you are physically in the U.S. year-round, and that nonresident status is what triggers the FICA exemption.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519, US Tax Guide for Aliens
Once the five-year or two-year window closes and you become a resident alien under the substantial presence test, Social Security and Medicare taxes must be withheld from your wages, even though your visa category has not changed.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519, US Tax Guide for Aliens The exemption follows your tax residency, not the visa stamp alone. This is where employers and workers most often get it wrong in either direction.
Who the Visa Exemption Does Not Cover
J-2 Dependents
Spouses and children in J-2 status do not qualify for the FICA exemption, even when the primary J-1 holder is exempt. The IRS position is that J-2 dependents did not enter the U.S. for the purpose of teaching, training, or research, so the statutory exception under Section 3121(b)(19) does not reach them. Any wages a J-2 dependent earns are fully subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.3Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals
H-1B Workers
H-1B specialty occupation workers owe FICA on all U.S. wages regardless of whether they are resident or nonresident aliens. There is no visa-based FICA exemption for H-1B, and the tax applies from the first day of H-1B employment.4Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Alien Individuals by Immigration Status – H-1B
If you are changing status from F-1 or J-1 to H-1B, your FICA exemption ends when the new status takes effect. Your employer must begin withholding Social Security and Medicare from that point, even if you remain a nonresident alien for the rest of the year.
Totalization Agreements for Other Nonresident Workers
The United States has bilateral Social Security agreements, called Totalization Agreements, with more than 30 countries to keep workers from paying into two national systems at once. Under these agreements, a worker temporarily assigned to the U.S. generally keeps paying into their home country’s system and is exempt from U.S. FICA, as long as the assignment does not exceed five years. You claim the exemption by obtaining a Certificate of Coverage from your home country’s social security agency and giving it to your U.S. employer.5Social Security Administration. Totalization Agreements
Countries with active Totalization Agreements include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.5Social Security Administration. Totalization Agreements Each agreement is written around the two countries’ retirement systems, so specific rules and duration limits vary.
This route is separate from any income tax treaty. A tax treaty may reduce income tax withholding, but it generally does not touch FICA. Only a Totalization Agreement, or the visa-based exemption under Section 3121(b)(19), can eliminate the FICA obligation itself. For an H-1B holder, the Totalization Agreement is the only path out.4Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Alien Individuals by Immigration Status – H-1B
How to Get Back FICA That Was Withheld in Error
If your employer withheld Social Security and Medicare from wages that qualified for the exemption, you can recover the money. The process has two stages, and you have to try the employer first.
Ask Your Employer First
Contact your employer and ask them to refund the erroneously withheld FICA. Employers can fix the overwithholding by adjusting their payroll tax filings. If your employer issues the refund, you are done and no IRS claim is needed.
If your employer refuses or cannot make the correction, for example because the company has closed, you need a written statement from them confirming the refusal. If you cannot get such a statement, you can write your own explanation describing why the employer could not or would not provide one and attach it to your IRS filing.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement
File Form 843 With the IRS
To claim the refund from the IRS, submit a package that includes:
- Form 843, the formal claim for refund and request for abatement.7Internal Revenue Service. About Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement
- Form 8316, titled “Information Regarding Request for Refund of Social Security Tax Erroneously Withheld on Wages Received by a Nonresident Alien on an F, J, or M Type Visa,” which asks about your visa status and whether any part of the tax has already been refunded or claimed as a credit.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 8316
- A copy of your Form W-2 showing the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld.
- The employer statement confirming they will not adjust the overcollection, or your own written explanation of why you could not obtain one.
- A copy of your visa stamp and a printout of your Form I-94 arrival and departure record confirming your nonimmigrant status during the work period.
- Copies of your work authorization documents, such as an Employment Authorization Document or CPT/OPT approval.
Mail the package to the IRS service center where you would file your current-year tax return. The correct address depends on where you live, so check the instructions for Form 843 and for your tax return, typically Form 1040-NR for nonresident aliens.9Internal Revenue Service. Where to File for Form 843
Deadline and What to Expect
You must file Form 843 within three years from the date you filed your original tax return for the year in question, or within two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. Miss that window and the refund is gone.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement
Processing times vary, but FICA refund claims commonly take six months or longer. The IRS sends status updates and the refund itself, either by paper check or direct deposit to a U.S. bank account, through standard mail. If you plan to leave the country before the refund arrives, keep a current mailing address on file with the IRS. You can update it later using Form 8822 if it changes after you file.