Nonresident Alien Social Security Tax: Exemptions and Refunds

If you work in the United States as a nonresident alien, you generally owe Social Security and Medicare tax on your wages the same way a U.S. citizen would. The Social Security tax for nonresident aliens is waived only in specific situations: certain student and exchange visitor visas, foreign government and international organization employment, and coverage under a Totalization Agreement with your home country.¹

The Default Rule and What It Costs

Employment in the United States is covered by FICA whether the worker is a citizen, a resident alien, or a nonresident alien.¹ The Social Security portion is 6.2% of wages up to the annual wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026, with the employer matching 6.2%. Medicare is 1.45% on all wages with no cap, again matched by the employer.²

At the 2026 wage base, a nonresident alien earning $184,500 or more would pay $11,439 in Social Security tax and at least $2,675 in Medicare tax. The exemptions below are exceptions to this default, not the rule.

Students and Exchange Visitors on F, J, M, or Q Visas

The largest exempt group is international students and exchange visitors. If you hold an F-1, J-1, or M-1 visa and you are still classified as a nonresident alien, wages you earn in the United States are not subject to Social Security or Medicare tax. Two conditions attach: the work must be authorized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and it must connect to the purpose of your visa.³

The exemption has a time limit. F-1 and J-1 students generally remain exempt for their first five calendar years of U.S. presence, because they are treated as exempt individuals under the Substantial Presence Test and stay nonresident aliens during that window. Once you become a resident alien, FICA applies to your wages like everyone else’s. J-1 non-students — researchers, professors, and similar categories — get a shorter window of roughly two calendar years.³

One trap catches families often: the exemption does not extend to dependents on F-2, J-2, or M-2 visas. If your spouse holds a J-2 and obtains work authorization, their wages are subject to full Social Security and Medicare tax from the first paycheck.³

Foreign Government and International Organization Employees

If you work for a foreign government in an official capacity and you are not a U.S. citizen, your salary is exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax. The same treatment applies to employees of international organizations performing official duties in the United States.⁴

H-1B, L-1, and O-1 Visas Do Not Get an Exemption

This is where the assumption most often breaks. H-1B specialty occupation workers owe Social Security and Medicare tax on their U.S. wages whether they are classified as resident or nonresident aliens for the year. The same applies to L-1 intracompany transferees and O-1 extraordinary ability visa holders. No FICA exemption is tied to these categories.⁵

If you are on one of these visas, the only route to avoiding U.S. Social Security tax is a Totalization Agreement with your home country.

Totalization Agreements and the Certificate of Coverage

The United States has Social Security agreements with roughly 30 countries. They exist to keep workers from paying into two national systems on the same earnings, and they also help people who split a career between countries qualify for benefits.⁶

Under an agreement, you generally pay Social Security tax only in the country where you actually work. If a treaty-country employer sends you to the United States temporarily, you can stay covered by your home country’s system and skip U.S. Social Security tax on those wages.⁶

To use the exemption you need a Certificate of Coverage from your home country’s social security agency. You give it to your U.S. employer, who then stops withholding Social Security tax. Without the certificate in hand, your employer must withhold as usual even if you would otherwise qualify.⁵

Self-Employment Income Follows a Different Rule

Self-employment tax works differently from employee FICA. If you are neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident, you are not subject to self-employment tax on your business income.⁷

Timing matters. If you earn self-employment income during a year in which you are classified as a U.S. resident under the Substantial Presence Test, that income is subject to self-employment tax even if you performed the work before becoming a resident. Some Totalization Agreements assign self-employment coverage based on your country of residence rather than where the work is performed, which can preserve an exemption even during a resident year.⁶

Getting a Refund When FICA Was Withheld in Error

Payroll departments unfamiliar with the student and exchange visitor rules often withhold Social Security and Medicare tax from workers who are actually exempt. Start with your employer. They can correct the withholding, refund the money, and issue a corrected W-2. That is the fastest route.⁸

If your employer refuses or cannot refund the full amount, file directly with the IRS using Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement) with Form 8316 attached. Include your W-2 showing the incorrect withholding, a copy of your visa, and your Form I-94 arrival record.⁸

You have three years from the date you filed your return, or two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. Past that window, the refund is gone.⁹

1
Internal Revenue Service. Social Security Tax/Medicare Tax and Self-Employment
2
Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
3
Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes
4
Internal Revenue Service. Employees of Foreign Governments or International Organizations
5
Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Alien Individuals by Immigration Status – H-1B
6
Social Security Administration. U.S. International Social Security Agreements
7
Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax for Businesses Abroad
8
Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement