ℹ️ Social Security and Medicare taxes, or FICA, may show on your W-2 (boxes 4 and 6). If you worked in the US on an F-1, J-1, M-1, Q-1, or Q-2 visa as a nonresident for tax purposes and your employer wrongly withheld these taxes, you might qualify for a refund.
☝️ IRS rules require you to first ask your employer for a FICA refund and wait 1 month for their reply. If they don't refund it, Sprintax can help prepare a FICA refund claim in Step 3 Let's talk money, sub-step Social Security. This won’t impact your federal or state tax filing. You have up to three years after the tax year to claim the refund.
➡️ Would you like Sprintax to prepare your Social security and Medicare (FICA) tax claim?
ℹ️️ If you want to claim your FICA refund through the IRS, Sprintax can prepare the necessary forms. Just select ‘Yes’ when asked if you want Sprintax to handle your FICA tax claim.
➡️ Has your employer paid you back for any part of the tax withheld?
ℹ️️ This question asks if your employer has paid you back any of the Social Security and Medicare taxes reported on your W-2 form.
➡️ Have you authorized your employer to claim any part of the tax as a credit or refund?
ℹ️️ Have you authorized your employer to claim any Social Security and Medicare tax as a credit or refund? Please answer Yes.
➡️ Has your employer claimed any part of the tax as a credit or refund?
ℹ️️ This question asks if your employer claimed any Social Security and Medicare tax from your W-2 as a credit or refund.
⚠️ NOTE: If unsure how to answer, ask your employer if they claimed or refunded any Social Security or Medicare tax shown on your W-2, or if you authorized them to do so.
💡 Once you finalize the process you will receive your FICA refund claim alongside complete instructions on how and where to mail it. Once the IRS processes your claim, your FICA refund will be issued via a refund check in the mail.
🤔 How long does it take for the IRS to process my FICA refund?
🔎 The IRS is experiencing delays and may take up to 12 months to process FICA refund claims. If your federal tax return is processed and you’ve mailed your claim, wait 5-6 months before requesting an update.
💭 How do I track my FICA refund?
The IRS does not offer online tracking for FICA refunds. Their online tool only tracks Federal tax refunds: https://sa.www4.irs.gov/wmr/. However, you can call the IRS to get an update on your FICA refund here.