Tax year 2026Checked
OPT paycheck deductions: what should my first F-1 pay stub show?
A line-by-line check of your first OPT paycheck: federal and state income tax, state payroll programs, pre-tax benefits, and the Social Security and Medicare lines that should read $0.
In short
- While you are a nonresident alien on F-1 OPT in 2026, your pay stub should show $0 for Social Security (OASDI) and $0 for Medicare.
- On $3,000 of pay, wrongly withheld Social Security and Medicare would be $229.50: 6.2% is $186 and 1.45% is $43.50.
- Federal withholding looks high because, for 2026, Publication 15-T has payroll add $670.80 to each semimonthly paycheck of a nonresident before working out the tax; the added amount is not wages.
- If Social Security or Medicare was taken from exempt pay, ask your employer for a refund first; Form 843 with Form 8316 is the route if the employer will not repay all of it.
Contents, 8 sections
An F-1 student on OPT who is a nonresident alien should see federal income tax and, in most states, state income tax on each 2026 pay stub. The Social Security and Medicare lines should read $0, because that pay is exempt while you are a nonresident alien.
What your employer withholds in 2026 is settled on the tax return you file in 2027; the guide to US taxes for international students covers that return.
What should be deducted from my OPT paycheck?
Federal income tax, state income tax in most states and your chosen benefits come out, and a state payroll program may also be withheld; Social Security and Medicare do not. The stub below is made up, with no real employer or person, and marks each line to check.
| Line | What it should show | If it looks wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | An amount, set by your Form W-4 | Check the W-4 steps for nonresidents |
| State income tax | An amount, in most states | Check the state is where you work (or, in some cases, live) |
| State payroll program | May also be withheld; check your pay stub | Ask payroll what it is |
| Social Security (OASDI) and Medicare | $0.00 | Ask payroll to check your first year of entry |
| Pre-tax benefits | What you chose, such as health insurance | Compare with your benefits election |
The IRS lists practical training on or off campus as exempt from Social Security and Medicare for F-1 students, and the exemption lasts while you are a nonresident alien. For most F-1 students that is the first 5 calendar years in the US (Publication 519).
Worked example: Lina, F-1 on OPT in Illinois
Lina first came to the US in 2024, so 2026 is her third calendar year and she is a nonresident alien. She earns $72,000 a year, paid in 24 semimonthly paychecks of $3,000, and claims no treaty.
| Line | Per paycheck |
|---|---|
| Gross pay: $72,000 divided by 24 | $3,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | $439.66 |
| Illinois income tax | $142.46 |
| Social Security and Medicare | $0.00 |
| Net pay | $2,417.88 |
Federal withholding follows Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A, with no Step 2 box checked: ($3,000 + $670.80) x 24 = $88,099.20, minus $8,600 = $79,499.20. The Single row gives $5,800 plus 22% of the $21,599.20 above $57,900 = $10,551.82 a year, or $439.66 a paycheck.
The Illinois line is one twenty-fourth of the year's estimated $3,419, from the take-home calculator: tax year 2026, wages only, single, a full year in Illinois, first year 2024, no treaty. Withheld wrongly, Social Security would be 6.2% of $3,000 = $186 and Medicare 1.45% of $3,000 = $43.50, so $229.50 a paycheck, or $5,508 over the year.
Key facts
- Federal income tax
- Withheld, and usually higher than a US coworker's on the same pay
- State income tax
- Withheld in most states, by the state where you work
- Social Security and Medicare
- $0 while you are a nonresident alien on OPT
- State payroll programs
- May also be withheld; check your pay stub
- If FICA was taken
- Ask payroll for a refund first
- For
- F-1 students on OPT, STEM OPT or CPT who are nonresident aliens in 2026, usually in their first 5 calendar years in the US.
- Not for
- Students who have become resident aliens, who owe Social Security and Medicare tax like US coworkers, and students paid only by their own school, whose campus pay stub is covered in a separate guide.
Why is my federal withholding so high?
Payroll withholds more from a nonresident than from a US coworker on the same pay, on purpose. For 2026, Publication 15-T has the employer add $670.80 to each semimonthly paycheck ($16,100 a year) before working out federal withholding.
The added amount is not wages: it is not on your W-2 and does not change the tax you owe. It stands in for the standard deduction that most nonresidents cannot take; students from India are not subject to it. The Form W-4 guide covers the form, and why F-1 students get tax refunds covers what happens when withholding is more than your tax.
For the whole year, the calculator estimates Lina's tax at $9,800 federal and $3,419 Illinois, so she keeps $58,781 of her $72,000. Her federal withholding, $10,551.82, is $751.82 more than that, partly because her return can deduct the Illinois tax.
- Federal income tax
- $9,800
- Illinois income tax
- $3,419
- Left after these taxes
- $58,781
Social Security and Medicare: $0. A US worker earning the same would pay $5,508.
What about state payroll programs on my stub?
Some states run their own payroll programs, such as disability or paid family leave insurance, and these may also be withheld; check your pay stub. Even a state with no wage income tax can take one: Washington's Employment Security Department lets employers withhold a paid leave premium from pay.
If you see a line you do not recognize, ask payroll what it is before assuming it is wrong.
Why is Social Security being taken from my OPT paycheck?
Payroll most likely has you down as a resident alien, often because of the first year of US entry it has on file. Most payroll offices decide from the immigration documents and entry history you give them, so ask payroll to check your first year of entry.
If Social Security or Medicare was taken from exempt pay, the IRS says to ask the employer that withheld it for a refund first. If it will not repay all of it, the FICA refund guide covers claiming it from the IRS on Form 843 with Form 8316.
Once you are a resident alien, usually from your sixth calendar year, both taxes apply. In 2026 that is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 and 1.45% of all wages (Social Security Administration). Pay from a job at your own school follows a separate rule, covered in on-campus job taxes.
How can I check my stub without typing every line?
The take-home calculator can read a pay stub PDF from your payroll portal and compare its withholding with a full-year estimate. It reads the file in your browser and uploads nothing.
It needs a PDF with text in it: a scan or a photo has no text to read and is refused. You can paste the stub's text instead, and you check every figure before it is used.
What to do next
- On your first stub, check that Social Security and Medicare read $0.00.
- If they do not, ask payroll to check your first year of entry and to refund what was withheld.
- Check that the state income tax line names the state where you work.
- Keep every stub until you file your 2026 Form 1040-NR, due Thursday, April 15, 2027 if you had wages with US tax withheld. The OPT tax guide covers that return.
Questions students ask
Why is Social Security being taken from my OPT paycheck?
What should be deducted from my OPT paycheck?
Sources
This guide is checked against these 6 documents, most recently on .
- Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes, IRS
- Aliens employed in the U.S.: Social Security taxes, IRS
- Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, IRS
- Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, IRS
- Contribution and benefit base, Social Security Administration
- Paid Leave: your role and responsibilities (employers), Washington State Employment Security Department