Hi,

I came to the US in Sep 2004 and have been on F1-Student VISA since then. I graduated in Sep 2006 and am currently on OPT (Oct 16, 2006 to Oct 15, 2007). I started working full-time in October 2006 as soon as I graduated. I was receiving regular biweekly paychecks but the TAX deductions included SSN and Medicare taxes as well. I was unaware that I am exempt from paying SSN and Medicare taxes. I have been paying SSN and Medicare taxes from October-December 2006. This was at my previous employer.

I need to get a refund for that amount. I have filed my taxes this year for 2006 and was told to file a claim for the SSN/Medicare taxes after 8 weeks of my tax filing.

Could you please tell me the exact forms to be filled and the procedure to be followed for filing my claim? Thanks for the help.

Regards,
Arvind

Arvind:

For your federal tax return, file Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

To claim the refund of Social Security and Medicare taxes, FIRST request a refund from your employer. If they say no, get the refusal IN WRITING, preferably on company letterhead.

Once you have the refusal letter, prepare Form 843 and submit it with the required support documents (see IRS Pub 519, page 44-48).