When F-1 Students Start Paying FICA: The 5-Calendar-Year Rule, and Why 2022 Arrivals on OPT Pay in 2027

Arrived on F-1 in 2022? Your five exempt calendar years end December 31, 2026, and FICA most likely starts with your OPT pay from January 1, 2027.

Part of our guide to US taxes on F-1, OPT and H-1B.

As of November 1, 2026, F-1 students on OPT and STEM OPT start paying FICA, the Social Security and Medicare tax, in the first calendar year they become resident aliens for tax purposes. For most people that is the sixth calendar year after they first arrived on F-1, because the student exemption from the residency test lasts five calendar years and any part of a year counts. If you first arrived in 2022, your exempt years are 2022 through 2026. Once you are present 183 days in 2027, you are a resident for 2027, and your OPT wages are subject to FICA from January 1, 2027 if you were in the US that day (our reading of IRS Publication 519).

Status line, November 1, 2026. The student FICA exemption in Internal Revenue Code section 3121(b)(19) is in effect and unchanged. The OPT Fair Tax Act (H.R. 8972 in the House, S. 2940 in the Senate), which would end the exemption for OPT, is introduced and referred only and dies with the current Congress on 2027-01-03 unless enacted. SSA's 2027 Social Security wage base of $192,300 is scheduled for wages paid from January 1, 2027. The IRS has not published tax-year-2027 brackets, the 2027 standard deduction or 2027 401(k) and IRA limits.

When do F-1 students start paying FICA?

F-1 students are exempt from FICA on authorized work, including on-campus jobs, CPT, OPT and STEM OPT, only while they are nonresident aliens. A student is an exempt individual for five calendar years, and any part of a year counts. In the sixth calendar year, 183 days of US presence makes you a resident alien, and FICA applies.

Two separate rules produce that answer.

Rule one, the FICA exemption. The IRS page on foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes says nonresident F-1, J-1 and M-1 students are exempt on work USCIS allows, including "Practical Training student employment on or off campus." The same page sets the limit: "The exemption does not apply to F-1, J-1, or M-1 students who become resident aliens."

Rule two, the five-calendar-year clock. Whether you are a resident alien depends on the substantial presence test, and days you spend as an "exempt individual" are not counted. IRS Publication 519 (the 2025 edition) caps how long a student stays exempt: "You will not be an exempt individual as a student in 2025 if you have been exempt as a teacher, trainee, or student for any part of more than 5 calendar years unless you meet both of the following requirements." In practice you get five calendar years of excluded days, starting with the year you first arrived; the sixth is the first year your days count. Our substantial presence test guide covers the formula in general.

Putting them together for a 2022 arrival. For 2027, the test counts all your 2027 days, one-third of your 2026 days and one-sixth of your 2025 days. Your 2025 and 2026 days were exempt-student days, so they count as zero. That leaves 2027 alone: you need at least 183 days of presence in 2027, which also clears the separate 31-day minimum. If you are in the US every day from January 1, you reach day 183 on July 2, 2027.

Arrival-year table: your first FICA year (as of 2026-11)

Find the calendar year you first entered the US as an F, J, M or Q student, even for a single day.

As of 2026-11. Assumes no earlier student, teacher or trainee years, no change to H-1B before that year, and no claim under the intent exception described below. The 2027 wage base is from SSA's notice in the Federal Register of 2026-10-26; the 2026 figure is SSA's prior-year base.

Publication 519's own treaty example runs the same count: a student who "entered the United States as a nonresident alien student on January 1, 2021" became a resident on January 1, 2026 "because their stay in the United States exceeded 5 years." That is the 2021 row; the 2022 row follows one year later.

If you first arrived in 2021 and are still on OPT or STEM OPT, 2026 is already your sixth year, and you passed day 183 on July 2, 2026 if you were here all year. If your 2026 pay stubs show no Social Security or Medicare, raise it with payroll and a tax professional before the year closes, not in April.

Does a partial year count toward the 5 years?

Yes. Any part of a calendar year counts as a whole year, so a few days in late December uses up that year. Count calendar years, never months: five calendar years can end barely four years after you landed.

Take two classmates who finish the same program together. One landed on August 14, 2022 for the fall term; the other landed on January 5, 2023 for spring. The first has exempt years 2022 through 2026 and a first FICA year of 2027. The second has 2023 through 2027 and starts in 2028. A third who arrived on December 27, 2022 used up 2022 with five days and joins the 2027 cohort.

Earlier stays count too. Publication 519's student rule has no look-back window, so an earlier F-1 degree, a J-1 exchange semester or a J-1 trainee year all use up calendar years: a bachelor's on F-1 from 2015 to 2019 spent all five. Days on a B-2 visitor visa are not exempt-student days, so they use up no year (they simply count under the presence test).

Does STEM OPT extend the FICA exemption?

No. STEM OPT extends your work authorization, not the five-calendar-year count. The 24-month extension, and the 180-day automatic extension while a timely STEM OPT application is pending (in effect; the final rule of 2026-10-14 that ended automatic extensions for certain EAD renewals did not touch it), keep you working, but neither pauses the calendar. USCIS's STEM OPT page describes both.

Common misconception: "I'm on F-1 until my STEM OPT ends, so payroll can't take FICA."

Correction: the exemption follows your tax residency, not the label on your EAD. In the IRS's words, "The exemption does not apply to F-1, J-1, or M-1 students who become resident aliens." You can hold F-1 status, a valid STEM OPT EAD and resident-alien tax status all at once.

What if you switch to H-1B before your sixth year?

Then FICA starts earlier. The exemption also ends when you change to a status that is not exempt, such as H-1B, so FICA applies from your H-1B start date whatever year you arrived. During cap-gap you are still in F-1 status, and the exemption continues while you remain a nonresident.

See when FICA starts on an OPT to H-1B change of status and how H-1B status affects your taxes.

Will my employer start FICA automatically in January?

Not necessarily. Payroll applies the exemption based on the dates in its system, and it may know only your EAD dates, not the year you first arrived on F-1. The safest assumption is that nobody has counted your calendar years except you.

Why January matters: under Publication 519, once you meet the substantial presence test for a year, "your residency starting date is generally the first day you are present in the United States during that calendar year." You will not reach day 183 until about July 2, 2027, but when you do, your resident status reaches back to the first day you were here in 2027. An employer that waits until July has under-withheld for half a year, and that gap becomes a correction rather than disappearing. Three situations play out differently:

• You stay in the US all of 2027. You are a resident from January 1, and FICA applies to your 2027 wages from that date.
• You are abroad over New Year's and return on, say, January 12, 2027. Your residency starting date is generally your first day back, which makes 2027 a dual-status year (nonresident before that date, resident after). Publication 519 lets you leave out up to 10 days only when, on those days, your closer connection and tax home were in another country, and a dual-status return generally cannot take the standard deduction; have a tax professional confirm both. Our dual-status first-year return guide walks through the two-part filing.
• You leave before day 183, for example because STEM OPT ends and you move abroad in May 2027. You do not meet the test for 2027 and remain a nonresident, so FICA withheld from your 2027 pay was not owed. The IRS route is to ask the employer first, then file Form 843 with Form 8316; see our FICA refund guide.

A 2027 payroll example at the new wage base

For 2027, the employee Social Security tax is 6.2% on wages up to $192,300, a maximum of $11,922.60 (SSA, 2026-10-26). Medicare is 1.45% with no cap, plus an additional 0.9% withheld on wages above $200,000. Your employer pays a matching 6.2% and 1.45% on top of your pay, not out of it.

Here is a hypothetical 2022 arrival paid $100,000 a year, biweekly (a round number chosen for the arithmetic, not a typical salary):

2027 rates and wage base as of 2026-11 (SSA notice, 2026-10-26). Federal and state income tax withholding not shown.

Two other changes travel with residency. IRS Publication 15-T (2026) has employers add an amount to a nonresident alien's wages before computing income tax withholding ($16,100 a year for 2026, or $619.20 per biweekly period; the 2027 figure is not published), and that add-on applies only to nonresident alien employees. And the FICA you pay earns Social Security credits, one per $1,970 of covered earnings in 2027. The US has 31 totalization agreements and none with India or China, per SSA's list, so for those countries the credits stay in the US system.

What changes when you become a resident alien on F-1?

Your immigration status does not change. You are still F-1, your DSO still manages your SEVIS record, and the OPT unemployment limits of 90 days (150 with STEM OPT) still apply, per ICE's SEVP guidance. What changes is how the IRS treats you for that tax year:

• FICA on OPT and STEM OPT wages. A separate exemption, IRC 3121(b)(10), covers on-campus work for your own school while you are enrolled at least half-time, even after you become a resident. Off-campus OPT does not qualify for it.
• A resident return. For tax year 2027 you file Form 1040 (in 2028) instead of Form 1040-NR and report worldwide income. A resident for all of 2027 can take the standard deduction ($16,100 single for 2026, per the IRS's 2026 inflation adjustments; the 2027 figure is not published).
• FBAR. Resident aliens are US persons for the FBAR rule: if your foreign accounts total more than $10,000 at any point in the year, the report is due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15 (for 2027 accounts, in 2028). Our FBAR and FATCA guide for visa holders covers which accounts count.
• No Form 8843 as an exempt student for 2027. You still need one for each of your exempt years. Your 2026 return is your last full-year nonresident one: Form 1040-NR, due 2027-04-15 if you had wages with withholding (our arithmetic; the 2026 instructions are not posted yet).
• Treaty articles. Some student articles survive residency: in the Publication 519 example above, China's Article 20 still applies after the student becomes a resident. Others stop mattering, so check yours with a tax professional.

Is there any way to stay exempt past five years?

Publication 519 allows one: you stay an exempt individual after five years only if "You establish that you do not intend to reside permanently in the United States" and "You have substantially complied with the requirements of your visa." The IRS's exempt individual page says you must establish this "to the satisfaction of the IRS," with a fully completed Form 8843.

This is a factual showing about your intentions, not a box to tick, and your plans (an H-1B petition, a green-card process) are part of the facts. Whether it fits you is a question for a tax professional who handles nonresident returns, and, where it touches your immigration plans, a licensed immigration attorney.

How to prepare your payroll and return in December 2026

1. Count your calendar years using your travel history on the CBP I-94 website and your past Form 8843 filings.
2. Ask your DSO for your SEVIS history if you studied in the US on an earlier I-20 or DS-2019, so every prior student year is on paper.
3. Email HR or payroll in December with your first F-1 arrival date, each calendar year you were present as a student, and the year you expect FICA to start. Ask them to confirm in writing how they will treat your 2027 pay.
4. Ask payroll whether your Form W-4 and the Publication 15-T nonresident add-on change for 2027.
5. Check your first 2027 pay stub for Social Security and Medicare lines, and again after early July, when you pass day 183.
6. Tell payroll at once if you will leave the US before day 183 in 2027.
7. Book a tax professional for your tax-year-2027 Form 1040 and FBAR well before the spring 2028 filing season.

Common mistakes

• Counting 60 months from your arrival date. The clock runs in calendar years. A December arrival loses almost a full year of exemption.
• Assuming STEM OPT or a new degree resets the count. Neither does. Earlier F-1 and J-1 years count for life.
• Waiting until July to tell payroll. Your residency starts on your first day in the US in 2027, so a July fix means six months of corrections.
• Skipping Form 8843 in exempt years. The IRS substantial presence test page warns: "If you do not timely file Form 8843, you cannot exclude the days you were present in the U.S. as an exempt individual." That can pull your residency forward.

Frequently asked questions

Do F-1 students pay FICA after 5 years?

Usually yes, if you are still working on OPT or STEM OPT. After five calendar years as an exempt student your days start counting, and 183 days of presence in the sixth calendar year makes you a resident alien, which ends the student FICA exemption. On our reading of IRS Publication 519 (checked November 1, 2026), that sixth year is 2027 for anyone who first arrived on F-1 in 2022.

Does a partial year count toward the 5 years?

Yes. Any part of a calendar year you spent in the US as an F, J, M or Q student counts as one full year, so arriving on December 27, 2022 uses up 2022. Count calendar years, never months, which means your five exempt years can end barely four years after you landed.

Does STEM OPT extend the FICA exemption?

No. STEM OPT extends your work authorization, not the five-calendar-year count. OPT and STEM OPT wages are FICA-exempt only while you are a nonresident alien, so the exemption ends in your sixth calendar year once you meet the 183-day test, even if your STEM OPT runs longer.

What changes when I become a resident alien on F-1?

Your immigration status stays F-1, but the IRS taxes you like a US resident. FICA applies to OPT wages, you file Form 1040 reporting worldwide income (with the standard deduction if you are a resident all year), and you file an FBAR if your foreign accounts total more than $10,000 at any time in the year (due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15). The 2027 standard deduction had not been published as of November 1, 2026.

Will my employer start FICA automatically in January?

Not necessarily. Payroll applies the exemption based on the dates in its system, and it may know only your EAD dates, not the year you first arrived on F-1. Give HR your arrival date and calendar-year history in December 2026, then check your first 2027 pay stub for Social Security and Medicare lines.

Sources

• IRS, Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes
• IRS, Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens (2025)
• IRS, Exempt individual, who is a student
• IRS, Form 8843 and the substantial presence test page
• IRS, Publication 15-T (2026)
• SSA notice on the 2027 wage base, Federal Register, 2026-10-26
• IRS, tax-year-2026 inflation adjustments and current news releases
• IRS, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
• USCIS, STEM OPT extension
• ICE SEVP, BCM 2101-01 on OPT unemployment
• GovInfo, H.R. 8972, OPT Fair Tax Act

How we checked this: on November 1-2, 2026 we read IRS Publication 519 (2025 edition), the IRS foreign-student FICA, exempt-individual and substantial presence test pages, Publication 15-T (2026), and SSA's 2026-10-26 Federal Register notice, and confirmed that the IRS news list (through October 29) has no tax-year-2027 adjustments; the arrival-year table and payroll figures are our arithmetic from those sources.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-94, I-20 and travel history govern, and a tax professional who handles nonresident and resident-alien returns should confirm your first FICA year.

If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and planning your next sponsored role, F1Jobs helps international candidates run a focused search for employers that sponsor H-1B.