Social and Medicare deduction after H1B visa approval or from Oct 1 ?

D

dipjyoti

New Member
My employer has started deducting the Social and Medicare taxes, after the H1B visa approval. But the change of status from F1 to H1B happens only from Oct 1 onwards (LCA date). So, won’t the Social and Medicare deductions be done from Oct 1 onwards ? or is it done after the visa approval notice from USCIS ? Can anyone please confirm this ?
 
You are not in H1b status until Oct 1. You are still on F1 status before then. If this is in the first 5 calendar years of F1, they should not deduct FICA taxes from you.
 
I have been in F1 from Aug 2011, so its less than 5 years. ok, my employer has already started deducting the Social and Medicare taxes before Oct 1 :(
 
You should tell them not to deduct it before Oct 1 and refund the mistakenly deducted to you. You should show them you are still in F1 status and present documents that show F1 non-resident are exempt from FICA. And if they will not refund it you should get something in writing saying they will not refund it.

If you cannot get it back from your employer, trying to get it back from the IRS is a pain and it may take years and you may never get it back.
 
ok, thanks for the information. If they continue to deduct, then when should I contact IRS like during filing of W2 next year or is there any separate procedure like sending them a written statement as you mentioned from the employer ? I think it will be hard to get back from IRS but still that is the only option if the employer does not stop deducting till Sep 30.
 
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