No.
In a 2005 IRS Treasury Regulation, the IRS specifically stated that medical residents are not students for purposes of a student exception from FICA.
Are Medical Residents “Students” for Purposes of the Student Exception to FICA
Pre-April 1, 2005 Period:
Prior to April 1, 2005, the Treasury regulations provided that an
employee had the status of a “student” for purposes of the student exception to FICA if the
employee performs services for a school, college, or university “as an incident to and for the
purpose of pursuing a course of study” at that school, college, or university. During all of this
pre-April 2005 period, although medical residents were not specifically identified in the
regulations, the IRS maintained a steadfast position that medical residents did not qualify as
“students” for purposes of the student exception and, as such, FICA taxes were due on the wages
of medical residents.
Post-March 31, 2005 Period:
The IRS issued new Treasury regulations that were effective April
1, 2005. In the new regulations, the IRS set forth certain factors that indicate a lack of student
status (e.g., the employee is working 40 or more hours per week, the employee carries less than a
full-time course workload, the employee is a licensed professional employee, the employee is
eligible for employee benefits). In an example in the 2005 Treasury regulations, the IRS states
specifically that the services of a full-time medical resident performed as part of a medical
residency program in a medical specialty do not qualify for the student exception to FICA
because they are full-time employees. The IRS further states in the regulations that “the fact that
some of [the medical resident’s] services have an educational, instructional, or training aspect
does not affect this conclusion.” Those 2005 regulations are currently still in effect.
