Policy

Summer Breaks: Students who work during the summer break and who are not enrolled and attending classes during the summer session are not exempt from FICA. However, the FICA exemption will continue to apply as long as the break is five weeks or less and provided that the student qualified for the exemption on the last day of classes preceding the break and is eligible to enroll in classes for the academic term that follows the break. See the complete policy statement at: UW System Administrative Policy SYS 206.

The non-exempt period begins with the first bi-weekly pay period following the end of the Spring Semester and continues through the bi-weekly pay period prior to the beginning of classes in the Fall.

Students working immediately before or after academic term: It is common for student employees to work shortly before the academic term begins or after the academic term ends. The services performed during the payroll period that falls either wholly or partially within the academic term is eligible for the student Social Security and Medicare tax exemption.

Summer Dates

The non-exempt period for Graduate Student Assistants paid on the Unclassified payroll begins with the June Regular payroll. The FICA indicator will automatically be switched after the May payroll calculation to “Y” for the summer months and the program is run again after the August payroll calculation to switch the indicator back to “N”. This applies to Student Assistants with active unclassified payroll records.

Note: The student must meet eligibility requirements to be exempt from FICA and Medicare.

Social Security and Medicare tax deductions are dependent upon the summer school schedule at UW-Milwaukee. For exceptions, please refer to UW System Administrative Policy SYS 206 above.

What Student Supervisors Should Do

Every Non-UW-Milwaukee student employed by UW-Milwaukee (hourly or student assistant) during the Summer must complete a Student Enrollment Verification/FICA Exemption Form along with a copy of their class schedule from the educational institution. The Supervisor signs the form and returns the form to Human Resources prior to the first day worked during the Summer.

It is important that payroll records are coded correctly as Social Security and Medicare Tax taken in error will not be refunded.