Who Is Exempt from FICA Taxes? Students, Clergy, and Nonresidents

Federal law exempts more than a dozen specific groups from FICA — the 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare taxes withheld from most paychecks.¹ The list of who is exempt from FICA taxes includes certain nonresident students and scholars, foreign government employees, students working for their own school, children under 18 employed by a parent’s unincorporated business, low-paid household and election workers, some newspaper carriers, certain state and local government workers covered by a qualifying pension, and members of specific religious groups. Self-employed workers pay the same taxes through SECA at a combined 15.3% rate, and many of the same exemptions carry over.²

Each exemption comes with its own conditions. Here’s what qualifies you for each one.

Nonresident Students, Scholars, and Exchange Visitors

Students on F-1, J-1, or M-1 visas who are classified as nonresident aliens are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes on U.S. wages for the first five calendar years of their stay.³ After five calendar years, a student who meets the substantial presence test becomes a resident alien for tax purposes and owes FICA like any other worker. The exemption ends immediately if the student changes to a non-exempt immigration status.

Teachers, researchers, physicians, au pairs, and other non-student professionals on J-1 or Q-1 visas get a shorter window. They are generally exempt for the first two calendar years of their stay, as long as they remain nonresident aliens.⁴ Once they become resident aliens, the exemption is gone.

One boundary worth flagging: these exemptions do not extend to spouses and children on dependent visa types like F-2, J-2, or M-2.³

Foreign Government and International Organization Employees

If you work for a foreign government in the U.S., your pay is not treated as wages for Social Security or Medicare purposes, regardless of your citizenship, residency, or where the work is performed. That covers ambassadors, consular officers, and other diplomatic personnel.⁵

Employees of public international organizations covered by the International Organizations Immunities Act are also exempt from FICA on their compensation, regardless of citizenship or where the work takes place.⁵

Students Working for Their Own School

If you’re enrolled and regularly attending classes at a school, college, or university and you also work for that same institution, your wages can be exempt from FICA. The test is whether you have the “status of a student” — the work has to be incidental to your education, not the other way around.⁶

The exemption also applies to work at an affiliated organization described in Section 509(a)(3) of the tax code, as long as that organization exists exclusively to benefit the school.

Summer breaks and semester gaps are where this gets tricky. The IRS looks at whether you maintained student status during the period in question, and employers review documentation showing the portion of the year you held that status. A student working full-time over the summer with no enrollment for the fall has a much weaker claim than one who is already registered for upcoming courses.

Children Working for a Parent

A child under 18 working in a parent’s business is exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, but only if the business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership where each partner is the child’s parent.⁷ Once the child turns 18, FICA applies normally.

A different age threshold applies to domestic work in the parent’s private home. A child doing household chores for pay is exempt from FICA until age 21.⁷

If the parent’s business is a corporation, or a partnership that includes any non-parent partner, the child’s wages are subject to FICA regardless of age. This catches family businesses off guard. An LLC that elected corporate tax treatment, for example, loses this exemption entirely.

Household Workers Under the Pay Threshold

If you hire someone to work around your home — a nanny, housekeeper, or caregiver — you only owe FICA on their wages once you pay them $3,000 or more in cash during the 2026 calendar year.⁸ Below that threshold, neither you nor the worker owes Social Security or Medicare tax on those wages.

The threshold is an all-or-nothing trigger, not a deductible. If you pay a household employee exactly $3,000 in 2026, FICA applies to the full $3,000, not just the amount over the threshold.⁸ The amount adjusts periodically, so check the current year’s figure each January.⁹

Election Workers Under the Pay Threshold

Poll workers, ballot counters, and other election officials are exempt from FICA as long as their pay stays below the annual coverage threshold. For 2026, that threshold is $2,500.¹⁰ The number adjusts over time. Most election workers easily fall under this limit because they work only a few days per year.

Newspaper Carriers and Sellers

Two related exemptions apply here. Anyone under 18 who delivers newspapers or shopping news directly to customers is exempt from FICA, but only for final delivery — not transporting papers to a distribution hub for others to deliver.¹¹ Separately, a person of any age who buys newspapers or magazines at a set price and sells them directly to consumers, keeping the difference as compensation, is also exempt. The second category applies regardless of age because the seller is treated more like an independent vendor than an employee.

State and Local Government Workers in Qualifying Retirement Plans

Since 1991, Congress has required Social Security coverage for state and local government workers who are not covered by either a qualifying public retirement system or a Section 218 Agreement with the Social Security Administration.¹² Workers who are covered by a qualifying retirement plan can be exempt from the Social Security portion of FICA, and in some cases from Medicare as well.

A Section 218 Agreement is a voluntary arrangement between a state and the SSA that brings specific groups of government positions into Social Security coverage. These agreements cover positions, not individuals, so if a position is covered, everyone who fills it pays FICA.¹³ Positions not covered by a 218 agreement can still be exempt from mandatory Social Security if the employees participate in a public retirement system that meets federal minimum benefit or contribution standards.¹²

Whether a particular government job is covered depends on the specific agreement and retirement plan in place, which varies widely. If you’re a state or local government employee, your HR department or retirement system administrator can confirm whether FICA applies to your position.

Members of Recognized Religious Groups

Members of certain religious groups can apply for a complete exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes — both FICA for employees and SECA for the self-employed — by filing IRS Form 4029. To qualify, you must belong to a recognized religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting any public or private insurance that pays benefits for death, disability, old age, retirement, or medical care.¹⁴

The group itself must meet three requirements. It must have existed continuously since December 31, 1950. It must have a track record of providing a reasonable standard of living for its dependent members. And it must hold conscientious objections to public and private insurance.¹⁴

The trade-off is permanent. You must waive all rights to Social Security and Medicare benefits under Titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act, and that waiver is irrevocable for the period the exemption is in effect. No benefits will be paid to you or to anyone else based on your wages or self-employment income during that period.¹⁴ In practice, this exemption primarily applies to certain Amish and Mennonite communities.

Ministers and Clergy

A separate exemption exists for ordained ministers, members of religious orders who have not taken a vow of poverty, and Christian Science practitioners. Unlike the Form 4029 exemption, this one is individual rather than group-based. You apply using IRS Form 4361, and the exemption covers only your self-employment tax on ministerial earnings. It does not exempt wages from a non-ministerial job.¹⁵

To qualify, you must certify that you are conscientiously opposed to, or opposed on religious principles to, accepting public insurance benefits like Social Security for your ministerial services. If you are an ordained or licensed minister, you must also inform the body that ordained or licensed you of your opposition before filing.¹⁵

The filing deadline is strict. You must submit Form 4361 by the due date (including extensions) of your tax return for the second year in which you had at least $400 in net self-employment earnings from ministerial services.¹⁵ Miss that window and the right to file is gone. There’s no late application process.

What to Do If FICA Was Withheld Anyway

If you qualify for one of these exemptions but your employer withheld Social Security or Medicare taxes anyway, start by asking the employer for a refund. Many payroll errors, especially for nonresident alien students and scholars, get resolved at this level.³

If the employer can’t or won’t refund the full amount, file a claim directly with the IRS using Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement). Nonresident aliens on F, J, or M visas should also attach Form 8316 along with supporting documents showing their exempt status.⁴

1
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 751, Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
2
Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes
4
Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals
5
Internal Revenue Service. Employees of a Foreign Government or International Organization (FICA) Including Social Security and Medicare Tax
6
Internal Revenue Service. Student FICA Exception
7
Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 926 (2026), Household Employers Tax Guide
9
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 756, Employment Taxes for Household Employees
10
Social Security Administration. Employment Coverage Thresholds
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 3121 – Definitions
12
Internal Revenue Service. Government Retirement Plans Toolkit
13
Social Security Administration. Section 218 Agreements
14
Internal Revenue Service. Form 4029, Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits
15
Internal Revenue Service. Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners