Did You Change Jobs Last Year?
You May be Entitled to a Refund of Excess FICA Withholding
It is not uncommon to hold several different jobs
throughout the year. If this applies to you, double check your withholding
statements to make sure you have not unintentionally overpaid the Federal
Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax.
FICA tax is withheld at a rate of 6.2 percent from
your paycheck by your employer and matched by you. The tax is credited to
your account at the Social Security Administration and used to determine
your social security benefits when you retire.
For 2004, the maximum wage subject to FICA withholding is $87,900. If you
earned this amount with one employer during 2004, you put in $5,449.80,
which was then matched by your employer. Once your pay went over the
limit, FICA withholding stopped.
If you changed jobs and your combined income from all employers went over
the limit, you probably overpaid your FICA taxes. This is because each
employer withheld the tax, unaware of how much previous employers had
already collected.
You are entitled to claim the excess withholding on your tax return.
Include the amount that exceeds $5,449.80 on your tax return in the
section where you report your other withholding and estimated tax
payments.
