Hi, Please help I'm in great problem and don't want to get hit with IRS late payment fees.
I was on OPT from January 1 2008 till October 1 2008 and then my status was changed to H1b. I have filed my taxes as Non-Resident 1040NR and I owed only 78.00 to the government. I paid my money to the IRS on 15th.

I am confused becoz I read that on h1b we have to file as a resident alien and not as non resident alien. Is this true or do we have to file as dual tax payer. My employer has deducted SSN and medicare money.

If on h1b if we can file as Non-Resident alien are there any chances for me to get my SSN and medicare back as I had two employers on my opt and both have deducted $$ for SSN and medicare. By filing the form 843 and 8316 Can I get my medical and social back.

PLEASE HELP I M CONFUSED AS HELL

Sam:

You filed correctly! You had not yet met the Substnatial Presence Test, so filing Form 1040NR was correct.

Dual status was an option, but it was your choice, not a requirement.

Getting the improperly-withheld FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes back is a separate process from the annual tax return, and requires submission of Forms 843 and 8316 plus some support documents.

But FIRST, you need to petition the employers to refund the money, because it is faster and easier to get the refund from the employer than directly from the IRS. The IRS requires this.

Note that only the OPT period is exempt from FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes. You became liable for FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes on 1 October 2008, the date your H-1B visa became effective.

Thanks AtlantaTaxExpert for your advice. Regarding the FICA tax I told the employer and he is not ready to refund but he will sign the letter. Can you give me an idea of what to include in the letter or do you have an sample for it.

My other problem is when I was doing my CPT from January 2007 till December 2007 the same employer has deducted FICA but during the year of 2008 I had filed as a Resident and I have to file an amendment in order to get the money back I understand that. My question is I had received some stimulus money also would it be better for me to amend the 2007 tax or leave it as it is.

My SSN and Medicare were $5760.00 n $2527.00

I had received $600.00 from government n $2527.00
I had standard deduction of $5350.00 n $2000.00 as education credit

Also let me know your cost for doing it.

Thanks

Sam:

Please email me at [email protected] for a fee quote.