Most U.S. workers pay FICA — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, with an employer match — but federal law lists more than a dozen groups who are exempt from FICA taxes.1Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 751, Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates The exemptions cover certain foreign students and scholars, diplomats and international organization staff, students working for their own school, young children on a parent’s payroll, low-paid household and election workers, newspaper carriers under 18, some state and local government employees, and members of qualifying religious groups. Self-employed workers who would otherwise owe the 15.3% SECA tax can also qualify for several of these.2Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
Foreign Students, Teachers, and Researchers
Students in the U.S. on F-1, J-1, or M-1 visas are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes on wages earned here for the first five calendar years of their stay, as long as they remain classified as nonresident aliens.3Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes After five calendar years, a student who meets the substantial presence test becomes a resident alien for tax purposes and owes FICA like anyone else. A change to a non-exempt immigration status ends the exemption immediately.
Teachers, researchers, physicians, au pairs, and other non-student professionals on J-1 or Q-1 visas get a shorter window. They are generally exempt for the first two calendar years of their stay, as long as they remain nonresident aliens.4Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals Once they become resident aliens, the exemption disappears.
One boundary catches people off guard: these exemptions do not extend to spouses and children on dependent visas such as F-2, J-2, or M-2.3Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes
Foreign Government and International Organization Employees
Pay from a foreign government is not treated as wages for Social Security or Medicare purposes, regardless of the worker’s citizenship, residency, or where the work is performed. The exemption covers ambassadors, consular officers, and other diplomatic personnel.5Internal Revenue Service. Employees of a Foreign Government or International Organization (FICA) Including Social Security and Medicare Tax
Employees of public international organizations covered by the International Organizations Immunities Act are also exempt on their compensation, no matter their citizenship or where the work is done. There is one carve-out: a U.S. federal employee who transfers to an international organization under 5 U.S.C. § 3582 and keeps the right to be rehired by the federal government remains subject to FICA on that pay.5Internal Revenue Service. Employees of a Foreign Government or International Organization (FICA) Including Social Security and Medicare Tax
Students Working for Their Own School
If you are enrolled and regularly attending classes at a school, college, or university, and you also work for that same institution, your wages can be exempt from FICA. The test is whether you have the “status of a student,” meaning the work is incidental to your education rather than the other way around.6Internal Revenue Service. Student FICA Exception
The exemption also covers work at an affiliated organization described in Section 509(a)(3) of the tax code, as long as that organization exists exclusively to benefit the school. Summer breaks and semester gaps are where this gets tricky. The IRS looks at whether you maintained student status during the period in question, and employers are expected to review documentation showing the portion of the year you held that status. A student working full-time over the summer with no fall enrollment has a much weaker claim than one who is registered for upcoming courses.6Internal Revenue Service. Student FICA Exception
Children Working for a Parent
A child under 18 who works in a parent’s business is exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, but only if the business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which every partner is the child’s parent.7Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees Once the child turns 18, FICA applies to business wages normally.
A different age applies to domestic work in the parent’s private home. A child doing household chores for pay is exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes until age 21.
The structure of the business matters as much as the age. If the parent’s business is a corporation, or a partnership that includes any non-parent partner, the child’s wages are subject to FICA regardless of age. An LLC that elected corporate tax treatment loses this exemption entirely.7Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees
Household Employees Below the Pay Threshold
If you hire someone to work in your home — a nanny, housekeeper, or caregiver — you owe FICA on their wages only once you pay them $3,000 or more in cash during the 2026 calendar year.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 926 (2026), Household Employers Tax Guide Below that amount, neither you nor the worker owes Social Security or Medicare tax on the wages.
The threshold is an all-or-nothing trigger, not a deductible. If you pay a household employee exactly $3,000 in 2026, FICA applies to the full $3,000, not just the amount over the threshold. The figure adjusts periodically, so check the current year’s number each January.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 756, Employment Taxes for Household Employees
Election Workers Below the Pay Threshold
Poll workers, ballot counters, and other election officials are exempt from FICA as long as their pay stays below the annual coverage threshold. For 2026 that threshold is $2,500.10Social Security Administration. Employment Coverage Thresholds The figure adjusts over time. Most election workers fall well under the limit because they work only a handful of days each year.
Newspaper Carriers and Sellers
Two related exemptions apply to people who deliver or sell newspapers and magazines. Anyone under 18 who delivers newspapers or shopping news directly to customers is exempt from FICA. This covers final delivery only, not transporting papers to a distribution hub for others to deliver.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 3121 – Definitions Separately, a person of any age who buys newspapers or magazines at a set price and resells them directly to consumers, keeping the difference as compensation, is also exempt. The second category has no age limit because the seller is treated more like an independent vendor than an employee.
State and Local Government Workers in Qualifying Retirement Plans
Since 1991, Congress has required Social Security coverage for state and local government workers who are not covered by either a qualifying public retirement system or a Section 218 Agreement with the Social Security Administration.12Internal Revenue Service. Government Retirement Plans Toolkit Workers covered by a qualifying retirement plan can be exempt from the Social Security portion of FICA, and in some cases from Medicare as well.
A Section 218 Agreement is a voluntary arrangement between a state and the SSA that brings specific government positions into Social Security coverage. These agreements cover positions, not individuals, so if a position is covered, everyone who fills it pays FICA.13Social Security Administration. Section 218 Agreements Positions not covered by a 218 agreement can still be exempt from mandatory Social Security if employees participate in a public retirement system that meets federal minimum benefit or contribution standards.
Whether a particular government job is covered depends on the specific agreement and retirement plan in place, which varies widely. If you work for a state or local government, your HR department or retirement system administrator can confirm whether FICA applies to your position.
Members of Recognized Religious Groups
Members of certain religious groups can apply for a complete exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes, covering both FICA for employees and SECA for the self-employed, by filing IRS Form 4029. To qualify, you must belong to a recognized religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting any public or private insurance paying benefits for death, disability, old age, retirement, or medical care.14Internal Revenue Service. Form 4029, Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits
The group itself must meet three requirements. It must have existed continuously since December 31, 1950. It must have a track record of providing a reasonable standard of living for its dependent members. And it must hold conscientious objections to public and private insurance.
The trade-off is permanent. You must waive all rights to Social Security and Medicare benefits under Titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act, and that waiver is irrevocable for the period the exemption is in effect. No benefits will be paid to you, or to anyone else, based on your wages or self-employment income during that period.14Internal Revenue Service. Form 4029, Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits In practice, this exemption primarily applies to certain Amish and Mennonite communities.
Ministers and Clergy
A separate exemption exists for ordained ministers, members of religious orders who have not taken a vow of poverty, and Christian Science practitioners. Unlike the Form 4029 exemption, which depends on group membership, this one is individual. You apply using IRS Form 4361, and the exemption covers only your self-employment tax on ministerial earnings. It does not exempt wages from a non-ministerial job.15Internal Revenue Service. Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners
To qualify, you must certify that you are conscientiously opposed, or opposed on religious principles, to accepting public insurance benefits like Social Security for your ministerial services. If you are ordained or licensed, you must inform the body that ordained or licensed you of your opposition before filing.
The filing deadline is strict. You must submit Form 4361 by the due date (including extensions) of your tax return for the second year in which you had at least $400 in net self-employment earnings from ministerial services.15Internal Revenue Service. Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners Miss that window and the right to file is gone. There is no late application process.
What the Social Security Wage Base Does and Doesn’t Cover
One point often confused with exemption: high earners stop paying the Social Security portion of FICA once their wages pass the annual cap. For 2026 that cap is $184,500.16Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet Every dollar earned above that figure is free of the 6.2% Social Security tax. Medicare has no equivalent cap. The 1.45% Medicare tax applies to all earned income with no upper limit.17Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 560, Additional Medicare Tax
If FICA Was Withheld in Error
If you qualify for one of these exemptions but your employer withheld Social Security or Medicare taxes anyway, start by asking the employer for a refund. Many payroll errors, especially for nonresident alien students and scholars, get resolved at this level.3Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes
If the employer cannot or will not refund the full amount, file a claim directly with the IRS using Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement). Nonresident aliens on F, J, or M visas should also attach Form 8316 along with supporting documents showing their exempt status.4Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals