Social security & medicare taxes for F1 OPT filing as resident

[chandra-ava]

I am on H1b visa and my wife is on F1 visa working on OPT. As she is on OPT she was exempted from paying social security & medicare taxes. So if we file tax return jointly as resident, do we need to pay those taxes back? Please suggest

[TaxGuyBill]

No.

The requirement for paying Social Security and Medicare taxes is based on if she meets the tests to be a Resident on her own.  Elections to treat her as a Resident (such as the one required to file Jointly) do not make her an actual Resident yet, so she is not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.

[avik-juneja]

Does Turbo Tax automatically take care of this? Turbo Tax never inquired about my Wife's status. It dosn't know if she's on F1/OPT.
Also, What should be the enrollment status for my wife who moved from F1 to F-1 OPT in April 2017. a) A full time student; b) half time student; or c) Less than half-time student?

[TaxGuyBill]

No, TurboTax does not do anything in regards to any residency issues, which is why I usually recommend a tax professional.  However, in regards to paying Social Security and Medicare taxes, that is something the employer does, not TurboTax.

For what purpose are you asking about being a student?  The college makes the determination for what is called "full-time", but for tax purposes, the student usually must be a student for parts of at least 5 months to be called a full-time student.  If your wife was only in school for parts of 4 months, she probably would not qualify as a student.