Non resident social security taxes

[spirit247i]

For US non resident should social security tax & medicare tax not be withheld?

Should i contact my employer to correct my W2?

At the time of exiting US it was not known whether I will be non resident for that year and will not meet the substantial presence test by returning there. Hence payslips and W2 reflect social security withheld.

[ErnieS0]

Yes. Contact your employer first to see if they will refund your social security and Medicare tax. If you are unable to get back the full amount, file Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. TurboTax does not support this form. Attach the following items to Form 843:

• A copy of your Form W-2 showing the social security and Medicare taxes withheld,
• A copy of the page from your passport showing the visa stamp,
• INS Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record,
• If applicable INS Form I-538, Certification by Designated School Official, and
• A statement from your employer indicating the amount of the reimbursement provided and the amount of the credit or refund claimed or authorized by you. If you cannot obtain this statement from your employer, provide your own statement and explain why you are not attaching an employer statement.
• If applicable, Form 8316, Information Regarding Request for Refund of Social Security Tax Erroneously Withheld on W...

File this form to the same IRS campus where your employer files payroll taxes.

[spirit247i]

While filing my US taxes i did not follow this elaborate procedure. Can I send this info to IRS later in year - what would be deadline?

Or is this a full amendment to tax return?

[ToddL99]

You probably do not qualify for a refund of Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from your W-2 wages.  U.S. social security and Medicare taxes apply to payments of wages for services performed as an employee in the United States, regardless of the citizenship or residence of either the employee or the employer (see exceptions, below).

From Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers, and...

Nonresident aliens, in general, are also liable for Social Security/Medicare Taxes on wages paid to them for services performed by them in the United States, with certain exceptions based on their nonimmigrant status.

The following classes of nonimmigrants and nonresident aliens are exempt from U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes:

• J-visas, and Q-visas. Nonresident Alien scholars, professors, teachers, trainees, researchers, physicians, au pairs, summer camp workers, and other non-student aliens temporarily present in the United States in J-1, or Q-1/Q-2 nonimmigrant status are exempt on wages paid to them for services performed within the United States, as long as such services are allowed by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for these nonimmigrant statuses, and such services are performed to carry out the purposes for which such visas were issued to them.

  • Exempt Employment includes:

    • Employment as a professor, teacher or researcher.

    • Employment as a physician, au pair, summer camp worker, or any other non-student category of exchange visitor.

  • Limitations on exemption:

    • The exemption does not apply to spouses and children in J-2,  or Q-3 nonimmigrant status.

    • The exemption does not apply to employment not allowed by USCIS or to employment not closely connected to the purpose for which the visa was issued.

    • The exemption does not apply to J-1, or Q-1/Q-2 nonimmigrants who change to an immigration status which is not exempt or to a special protected status.

    • The exemption does not apply to J-1, or Q-1/Q-2 nonimmigrants who become resident aliens.

•  H-visas. Certain nonimmigrants in H-2 and H-2A status are exempt as follows:

  • An H-2 nonimmigrant who is a resident of the Philippines and who performs services in Guam;

  • An H-2A nonimmigrant admitted into United States temporarily to do agricultural labor. For more information on foreign agricultural workers, see Foreign Agricultural Workers, Exemption from Withholding of U.S. Federal Income Tax and U.S. FICA Ta....