[Simbi]

I worked 3 jobs last year, two of them were at school and one was at an independent company as an intern. My school withheld federal and state tax from my paychecks but my internship didn't, therefore making me owe the government money. My school rightly did not withhold social security tax and medicare tax since as an international student I am exempted from such taxes, but my internship withheld both taxes, making them owing me money! Plus what they owe me is much more than what I owe the government! Isn't that nice! :mad:

I found this out through filing my taxes with CINTAX, and the program advised me to either contact my internship employee and see if they could refund me the money, or file Form 843 the Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement Form. (PS my intern boss is a bit of a penny pincher, as u can imagine, so I'm not sure how that would go)

My question is from the options mentioned above which would be the best alternative to obtain my money so that I could pay the govt. Also right now I don't have the money to pay the federal Tax I owe, so is it possible to file my taxes together with the 843 Form and not send the payment since the refund would cancel out the balance I owe. If so that would really help me out!! Right know I owe $355.62 to Federal, and $11 to State (which is ok), and the company owes me $461.79, meaning I should receive $106.70 back if the payment is taken from my refund, right?

Please help!!

Thanks

Hillary

P.S I usually file the 1040NR-EZ form together with the 8843 form every year since 2003. If that helps. Also, any advice in filing the 843 form?

[harshmodi]

This is from an IRS FAQ

13.5 Aliens and U.S. Citizens Living Abroad: Nonresident Alien - Tax Withholding

Under my visa as a temporary nonresident alien, I'm not subject to social security and Medicare withholding. My employer withheld the taxes from my pay. What should I do to get a refund of my social security and Medicare?

If social security tax and Medicare were withheld in error from pay received which was not subject to the taxes, you must first contact the employer who withheld the taxes for reimbursement. If you are unable to get a refund from the employer, file a claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service on Form 843 (PDF), Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement.

You must attach the following to your claim:

* a copy of your Form W-2 (PDF), Wage and Tax Statement, to prove the amount of tax withheld;
* Form I-797, INS Approval Notice, is needed if you have changed your status from F-1 or J-1 to another status prior to filing the claim;
* if your visa status changed during the tax year you should attach copies of the pay stubs that cover the period of exemption from social security taxes;
* a copy of INS Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, if you are still in the United States;
* a copy of your valid entry visa;
* Form 8316 (PDF) , Information Regarding Request for Refund of Social Security Tax , or a signed statement stating that you have requested a refund from the employer and have not been able to obtain one; and
* a copy of Form 1040NR (PDF) , US Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return (or Form 1040NR-EZ (PDF)), for tax the year in question. Processing of your claim may be delayed if you submit it less than six weeks after you filed Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

In addition to the documentation listed above foreign student visa holders should also attach the following:

* a copy of Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility, endorsed by your student advisor and stamped by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services; and
* a copy of the Employment Authorization Document of your Optional Practical Training (e.g. Form I-766, I-538 or 688B).
* if you are an exchange visitor, attach a copy of Form IAP-66 or DS-2019 to your claim.

File the claim, with attachments, with the IRS where the employer's returns were filed. If you do not know where the employer's returns were filed, send your claim to the Internal Revenue Service Center, Philadelphia, PA 19255.

For more information, refer to Chapter 8 of Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens .

References:

* Form 843 (PDF),Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement
* Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Simbi:

Harshmodi's posting provides good info. I already answered your question on the Private Messaging system.

[Simbi]

Thanks to both of you I really appreciate it! I'll post a copy of Atlanta Tax Expert's Advice in case anyone is going through the same predicament I'm in and may need help.

PS: I love this site!!

Hillary

[Simbi]

Here is a copy of the advice given by Atlanta Tax Expert as promised, for those who might go through the same problem, It will definitely help, togather with the advice harshmodi gave. Hills.

Hillary:

If your penny-pinching boss had understood that you were exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, he would not have had to pay HIS share of those taxes. He may still be able to recover these taxes, so approach him on that option. That way, he has an incentive to refund the Social Security and Medicare taxes that were improperly withheld.

I proposed the above option because you CANNOT use the projected Form 843 refund to offset your tax liability on your federal tax return. Form 843 is processed by a different section of the IRS, and it takes a LOT longer than the tax return to process.

If your boss will not refund the Social Security and Medicare taxes, you need to get that refusal in writing, preferably on company letterhead (has to be attached to Form 843). There is a bunch more documents required for this filing as well. Review pages 45-47 of IRS Pub 519 for details.

Do NOT delay in filing your tax return even though you do not have the money. You can pay what you can, then pay the rest on a payment plan. It may be better to pay using a credit card, or borrow the money from your bank, because the IRS charges about $65 to set up the payment plan, which is excessive when your tax bill is below $400.

Atlanta Tax Expert

[ramya]

Hi,

Thank you all for information provided - this site of such a great help!

I have a similar situation -- I worked as an intern from Jan to May 2005. From July 2005 onwards I was on H1-B. During the F1 period my pay federal and state taxes were not withheld but medicare and social security was withheld. My husband is on H1-B and I already filed taxes for 2005 as 'married filing jointly'. Would the money that I owe the govt have been automatically withheld while filing the taxes using the 1040 form or do I have to file another form for this purpose? Also taking into consideration my situation will I be able to make use of the Indo-US treaty and claim the $5000 deductable by filing the 1040-NR or no?

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

To get the Medicare and Social Security taxes back, you have to file Form 843. However, the fact that you filed jointly with your husband may derail that request for refund, because you opted to be treated as a resident alien, and filing jointly is a decision that cannot be revoked.

Sorry about that.

[Five Rings]

Electing to file as a US citizen CAN BE revoked by a simple statement to that effect submitted with your return.

However, YOU CAN NEVER make that election again.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

I disagree with usvistaxes post.

Theoretically, filing jointly with a resident alien or U.S. citizen spouse should not affect your withholding status for FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes.

However, it has been my experience that any filing of Form 843 after filing jointly with a spouse will ALWAYS be rejected by the IRS.

You can claim an exemption from withholding of these FICA taxes based on yor F-1 status (even if you have filed jointly with a spouse), but once the taxes are withheld, getting them back via the Form 843 submission is virtually impossible!

Further, once you HAVE filed jointly, it is an irrevocable decision unless you can show that your original joint filing was not a proper or correct filing to begin with.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

First, you appended your answer to a post (and to my answer) that is OVER three years old, which means it is probably NO LONGER Relevant to the original poster (OP).

Second, I clearly stated in my original answer that his filing as a resident alien will effectively derail any attempt for him/her to claim a refund of improperly-withheld FICA taxes. I reiterated that answer in my posting yesterday. Further, you failed to mention the need to get either a refusal letter from the employer and/or the need to file Form 8316 with the Form 843.

Third, given the age of the posting, the FICA tax withholding probably occurred in 2005. That being the case, it is TOO LATE for him to submit Form 843, as the three-year deadline for submission of Form 843 for Tax Year 2005 was 15 April 2009.

So, other than the fact that your posting was 1) irrelevant to the original OP, 2) inaccurate and incomplete in its content, and 3) too late to do the OP any good, I really have no problem with your answer!

Be careful what you ask for; you MAY get it!

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

That is a poor excuse of an answer!

The people who come to this forum are seeking our advice and counsel on how to deal with the complex tax system that governs how the U.S. populace pays its federal and state income taxes.

Those of us who choose to answer their questions do so as volunteers, without direct compensation. Even so, we owe it to anyone who posts a question to give them a correct and complete answer to that question!!

There are other tax experts on this forum (IntlTax, Five Rings, ebaines, Texas Tax Expert, to name a few) who will not hesitate to step in anytime I give an incorrect, incomplete or improper answer and critique my answers. Though I sometimes disagree with their critiques and will argue points of law and tax procedures with them when I think I am right or have a valid point, I accept their right to post those critiques.

When you post an answer, know that it will be reviewed by those who are at least (and probably much more) knowledgeable as you when it comes to tax law and tax procedures. If you do NOT know the correct answer, do yourself a favor and do NOT post any answer at all, as your ignorance WILL be exposed to the world for all to see.