ss & medicare tax refund?

Question

Hello,

I am on F-1 visa. For the year 2006, I worked for 3 different employer and all of them withheld SS & medicare tax in error. On the advice of IRS representative (on phone), I filled out 3 different 843 & 8316 forms. This was because, there's only one line for EIN on form 843. I did the application in March.

Now, when I checked the status of application by calling IRS account department, they are saying that they didn't receive any application and advised me to resubmite it. And she advised me to fill out only one 843 and 8316 form, just put any one EIN in the box, write total amount of claim in line 2 for amount to be refunded or abated and in explaination part give explaination about 3 employers, amount witheld by each employer and EINs.

Could you please advice me, how should I fill form 843 and 8316, I mean do I need to fill only one form or 3 different forms?

Thanks in advance,
Varun

Answer 1

I believe your issue is not filing three forms or one form. You will need to certify your IRS mail. Or you can Fedex or UPS the documents.

You will still provide
* A copy of your Form W-2 to prove the amount of social security and Medicare taxes withheld,
* A copy of the page from your passport showing the visa stamp,
* INS Form I-94,
* If applicable INS Form I-538, Certification by Designated School Official, and
* A statement from your employer indicating the amount of the reimbursement your employer provided and the amount of the credit or refund your employer claimed or you authorized your employer to claim. If you cannot obtain this statement from your employer, you must provide this information on your own statement and explain why you are not attaching a statement from your employer.
* If applicable, Form 8316,Information Regarding Request for Refund of Social Security Tax Erroneously Withheld on Wages Received by a Nonresident Alien on an F, J, or M Type Visa

First of all, you just need one 8316 if it is applicable for you.

Second, filing one form or three forms of 843 to the IRS is not the issue. Again, the IRS is looking for the explainations and the documentations (to proof that you are an "exempt person"). They will refund you or they will ask for more documentations.