FICA Taxes Refund Timeline – 6 Months & More

Have you applied for a FICA tax refund with IRS?

Then you are probably want to know the FICA Tax refund timeline and process.

I remember some F1, OPT students posting timeline as quick as four weeks. But things have changed now.

It will take about six months to get your FICA tax refund. Provided, you have included he required documents with your FICA tax refund application.

FICA tax refund timeline

Nautasha shared the following FICA Tax refund timeline.

Received FICA refund in 6 months:

I had my FICA taxes withheld being on F1 for about a year.

My employer was able to return the FICA taxes deducted for the current tax year, but for previous, I had to contact the IRS directly.

Here is my timeline that may help someone here (I applied from Austin, TX):

February 2019: I found out about the OASDI tax deduction from my paycheck and contacted the employer.

March 2019: Employer refunded 2019 part of the refund and gave me a letter for the FICA taxes withheld for 2018 that I sent the IRS. This letter is required to be submitted, which explains that my employer didn’t refund me the amount I am requesting IRS.

March 2019: I sent out documents to the IRS Austin address (where the employer submits their taxes).

July 2019: I did not receive the FICA tax refund. So, I scheduled an appointment with the IRS help center, Austin, to find out if why I did not get a FICA tax refund.

July 2019: Per IRS Austin, sent another set of same documents to Internal Revenue Service, 1973 N Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6552, Ogden, Utah 84404

October 2019: Received check in the mail with some interest.

Since I received some interest, I am assuming IRS is required to comply with a timeline. I am not sure what set of my documents (Austin or Ogden) helped.

Letter to the IRS from the Employer

The letter was on the company’s letterhead. It had payroll following details:

• department contact information
• my contact information
• a table of each paycheck’s taxes withheld (columns – pay period, pay date, SSI wages, OASDI tax, Medicare tax)
• a row of the total amount that my employer didn’t refund me.

Then the employer stated that we didn’t refund these; please contact the appropriate taxing agency directly. I also submitted a Contact card for the payroll department. And be sure to include your EAD/OPT card with your application as well.

What is OASDI Tax?

OASDI stands for Old age, survivors, and disability insurance tax, and the money deducted from your paycheck goes to the federal government to fund the Social Security program.

OASDI Tax is part of FICA Taxes.

Next – How to apply for FICA Tax Refund