FICA Tax Refunds For "Medical Residents" – Employee Claims

The Internal Revenue Service has made an administrative determination that it will accept the position that medical residents are excepted from FICA taxes based upon the student exception, for tax periods ending before April 1, 2005. FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. FICA taxes consist of two separate taxes, social security and Medicare. In July, 2010, the IRS began mailing Letter 4610, Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims, Employee Notification, to each medical resident who filed his or her own individual FICA refund claim for any tax period ending on or before December 31, 2004. Claims for refund of FICA taxes filed for periods ending after December 31, 2004, will remain pending and will not be paid at this time.

If you did not file an individual FICA refund claim, you will not receive Letter 4610 from the IRS. However, you may be covered by a FICA refund claim filed by your employer for the period you were a medical resident. You would need to contact your employer (or former employer) to see if it filed a FICA refund claim. Employers that filed refund claims have been contacted by the IRS.

If you filed an individual FICA refund claim for tax periods ending on or before December 31, 2004, and you do not receive a letter from the IRS by August 15, 2010, send a copy of the original claim, proof of timely mailing, and Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, (if you want to authorize an individual to represent you with respect to your medical resident claims) to:

Internal Revenue Service

P O Box 12220

Ogden, UT 84412

If you prefer, you can fax the information to 801-620-3113. Be sure to include a telephone number and the best time to call.