Tax year 20263 guides
Getting money back: refunds, FICA and withholding
Refund timelines, getting a refund without a U.S. bank account, and recovering Social Security and Medicare tax taken in error.
A student can be owed two kinds of refund. Federal income tax withheld beyond what you owe comes back only when you file Form 1040-NR, and the IRS says a paper return's refund usually takes 6 weeks or more after it arrives. Social Security and Medicare tax taken from a nonresident student's pay in error comes back from the employer first, or else from the IRS on Form 843 with Form 8316.
Your 1040-NR refund covers how long it takes, how to check on it, and why to put a US bank account in your own name on lines 35b to 35d of the 2026 draft: the IRS has generally stopped issuing paper refund checks. The FICA refund guide shows how to find that tax in boxes 4 and 6 of your W-2 and how to claim it back. For tax taken from 2026 pay, you have until Monday, April 15, 2030.
Read in this order
Your 1040-NR refund: how long it takes and how to receive it
The IRS says a paper return's refund usually takes 6 weeks or more after it arrives. Put US bank details on your 1040-NR, or the IRS holds the refund.
FICA refund for F-1 students: get Social Security and Medicare tax back
Nonresident F-1 students owe no Social Security or Medicare tax on campus job, CPT or OPT pay. If withheld, ask the employer, then file Forms 843 and 8316.
Will I get a tax refund as an F-1 student? Why so much is withheld
Many nonresident F-1 students get a 2026 federal refund, but only by filing Form 1040-NR. Why so much tax is withheld, and the tax on a $24,000 summer job.
Questions these guides answer
Your 1040-NR refund: how long it takes and how to receive it
- How long does a paper 1040-NR refund take?
- How do I check my 1040-NR refund status?
- How do I get my refund by direct deposit?
- What happens if I have no US bank account?
- Can the IRS send my refund to my home country?
- When can I close my US bank account before I leave?
All 6 questions in Your 1040-NR refund: how long it takes and how to receive it
FICA refund for F-1 students: get Social Security and Medicare tax back
- Am I exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax on an F-1 visa?
- When does the FICA exemption end?
- How do I check whether FICA was taken from my pay?
- How do I ask my employer to refund FICA?
- How do I claim FICA from the IRS with Form 843 and Form 8316?
- Where do I mail Form 843 for a FICA refund?
All 6 questions in FICA refund for F-1 students: get Social Security and Medicare tax back
Will I get a tax refund as an F-1 student? Why so much is withheld
- Why is more tax withheld from me than I owe?
- How much comes back from a summer internship?
- Is Social Security and Medicare tax part of my refund?
- When will I get no refund, or owe tax?
All 4 questions in Will I get a tax refund as an F-1 student? Why so much is withheld