What is “FICA” and why is it making my paycheck smaller?
“FICA” (which stands for "Federal Insurance
Contributions Act") refers to the payroll taxes withheld from your salary
that fund both the US Social Security and Medicare programs. Employees who are
full-time students, nonresident alien students (F-1s/J-1s) and nonresident
alien scholars (J-1s in the first two years of their program) do not have to
pay FICA taxes.
If you are required to pay FICA taxes, the Medicare contribution
is identified as “Fed MED/EE” and the Social Security contribution is
identified as “Fed OASDI/EE” on your paycheck. The Medicare contribution is
1.45% of your taxable income. In
January 2013, the employee’s share of the Social Security payroll tax was
increased to 6.2% of your taxable income.
Note: Some of you may have been exempt in 2013 because of
your nonresident tax status, but that status may have changed in 2014 and you
are paying FICA for the first time. If you are unsure, check your GLACIER
tax summary for information on when you can expect to start paying FICA taxes.
