Student employment - no Social Security taxes?

[arabrab]

<p>D had an on-campus job this semester at her state university -- not work study -- and brought home her pay stubs. </p>

<p>They didn't withhold any social security or medicare taxes. </p>

<p>Is she going to need to pay those separately, or is there some exemption for student employment? (Nice to have the full paycheck, but I'd rather she know now if some of that is going to have to be given back.)</p>

<p>Depending on summer earnings, she may or may not have to file a federal income tax return; still not sure about that.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>They don’t pay it for WS employment. But I would have expected to see it deducted for non WS employment. Maybe there is some special rule.</p>

<p>edit:from <a href=“http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=120663,00.html[/url]”>http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=120663,00.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes do not apply to service performed by students employed by a school, college, or university where the student is pursuing a course of study. Whether the organization is a school, college, or university depends on the organization’s primary function. In addition, whether employees are students for this purpose requires examining the individual’s employment relationship with the employer to determine if employment or education is predominant in the relationship.

</p>

<p>I did not know that.</p>

[Debruns]

<p>I noticed my son’s didn’t have any either, (not workstudy) and it didn’t effect his tax return. I saw this on a tax guide:
My daughter had a job last year at dining hall at her
university. She got her W2 and there was no SS or medicare
withheld. The payroll dept said as long as she was a
registered, full time student they don’t withhold SS or medicare. Does this make sense? Does my daughter have to pay the SS and the employer’s part of the SS? Or does she just report it as is?</p>

<br>

<p>The school is correct. Services performed in the employment
of a college by a student who is enrolled and regularly
attending classes at that school are exempt from those
taxes.</p>

<br>

[arabrab]

<p>Well – that’s really nice – just about a seventy cent an hour raise for her. </p>

<p>Thank you for the info!</p>

[cptofthehouse]

<p>Yep, with some campus jobs, no SSN or Medicare taken out. That was the case in my day too. Son got some grant money for a research project. It has to be reported for federal and state income tax but no SS or Medicare deductions there either.</p>

<p>Anyone know what the rule is on that? Because some jobs on campus DO make those deductions.</p>

[thumper1]

<p>How odd…I just looked at DD’s W-2 form for last year. She earned $7150 working full time in the summer and part time during the school year at her ON CAMPUS job. Her SS wages are listed at $2606 or so. I gotta think that was what she earned in work study…but I could be wrong. Her WS money in 2008-09 was $3000 and 2009-2010 is $4000. Social security and medicare money was taken for the $2606.</p>

<p>NO Federal or state income tax was withheld on any of this income.</p>

<p>Now that I think of it…maybe that is the amount OVER what she was able to earn without paying taxes. Who knows?</p>

<p>She had to pay $250 or so to the federal government when she filed her taxes and $4 (no kidding) to the state of CA.</p>

[sk8rmom]

<p>Going from memory here, but I think the difference is in the type of job they’re doing on campus. Working in a lab or department would be considered educational, working in a cafe would not…or something like that. I also remember being exempt when I was a student working on a gov’t funded project but not when I was working in the campus pub.</p>

<p>Thumper, I’m pretty sure it would be her non-WS income generating the SS/medicare unless her ws included hours for an off-campus job. WS is exempt as long as the student is working for the college (as opposed to a public service type ws).</p>

[Debruns]

<p>My son worked in a lab and tutored, so maybe that made a difference, but he never had workstudy and I thought at first it was odd until I saw it was common in educational settings.</p>

[3bm103]

<p>

She earned $7150 working full time in the summer and part time during the school year at her ON CAMPUS job. Her SS wages are listed at $2606 or so. I gotta think that was what she earned in work study.

It’s the opposite. The work study would not be subject to social security. If the work study was $3,000 then they also exempted part of the other earnings.</p>