FICA Tax Info

FICA Taxes

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) is the federal law that requires three separate taxes withheld from the employee's wages:

  •     6.2% Social Security/OASDI Tax
  •     1.45% Medicare Tax
  •     0.9% Medicare Additional tax when the employee earns over a certain threshold.

 
FICA Exemption for Student Employees

Student employees are exempt from FICA tax if they meet both of the requirements below:

  1. Your enrollment status must be at least half-time.
    • The Registrar's website provides details on enrollment status for the semester and type of student.
    • If you have an enrollment waiver which classifies you as at least half-time status, please have your department contact Human Resources to be eligible for the FICA exemption.
  2. You must work 30 hours or less per week.
    • This is a combined total of all positions with the University.
    • The maximum hours requirement applies over breaks as well.
    • The hours worked in each week do not affect a week working over 30 hours.

Example:  You worked 35 hours in week 1 and 20 hours in week 2.  You will be charged FICA since you worked over 30 hours in one of the weeks.

You can find more information regarding the Student Exception to FICA Tax topic on the IRS website.