Important message for medical residents - Updated June 30, 2011

Internal Revenue Service To Honor Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on March 2, 2010 it will accept the position that medical residents prior to April 1, 2005 are exempt from FICA taxes based on the "student FICA exception". This decision does not impact medical residents enrolled from April 1, 2005 forward.

In order to be eligible for the refund, a valid refund claim for those time periods had to be filed with the IRS on a timely basis requesting FICA tax-exempt status for medical residents, the so-called "Student Exception" to FICA. Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) has worked diligently over the years to file refund claims with the IRS for the period January 1, 1995 through March 31, 2005 and is thus eligible to receive refunds on behalf of the medical residents participating in medical residency training programs during that timeframe. 

CHS submitted the detailed information requested by the IRS on November 19, 2010, regarding our refund claims. This information included all signed consents provided by eligible medical residents submitted to CHS as of October 29, 2010.   With an eligible medical resident's written consent, CHS can obtain a refund of the FICA taxes that were withheld and paid on the resident's behalf. With this written consent, CHS will pay the eligible resident the FICA tax refund plus interest at rates determined by law once the IRS processes the refund requests. The IRS has not released a firm timetable as to when refunds will be issued. Once the refund payments are received from the IRS, CHS will send refund payments plus interest to qualified former residents as quickly as possible. Please refer to this webpage for future updates on status of the refund.

There has been no change in status of the refund since our last posting on January 3, 2011 nor do we have any indication as to when the refunds will be issued as the IRS has yet to release a firm timetable.  Please refer to this webpage for future updates on status of the refund.

If you are an Eligible Resident and have an address change, please click here to access a secure webpage and provide your updated contact information and U.S. Postal mailing address.

CHS will continue to update this webpage as any new details or the timing of the payment of refunds is provided by the IRS. A link to the IRS announcement and list of frequently asked questions is attached for your convenience. http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=219548,00.html