FICA Exemption Criteria for Student Employees

The following criteria, part of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), is used to determine whether a student employee can be exempted from FICA tax withholding.

IRC Criteria

  • Student employees who are non-resident aliens and are J-1 or F-1 visa holders may be exempt
    from FICA tax withholding based on their visa status and length of stay in the U.S. Contact [email protected] to request access to Glacier Nonresident Alien Tax Compliance.
  • Student employees who are U.S. citizens, resident aliens or permanent residents may be exempt
    from FICA tax withholding based on the following categories:
    • All other undergraduate students will be exempt during the Fall, Winter, and Summer terms in which they are enrolled for 6 or more credit hours (considered to be a half-time or greater enrollment). 
    • All other graduate students will be exempt during the Fall, Winter, and Summer terms in which they are enrolled for 4 or more credit hours (considered to be a half-time or greater enrollment). 

The payroll system will review the students' enrollment status continually throughout the year. The
above criteria will be used and no exceptions will be made for individual students.  When a student's enrollment hours change during a term, retroactive FICA tax charges or refunds will not be processed.

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