Several components determine an individual’s particular taxation such as the way the W-4 Card is completed, citizenship status, age, student enrollment status and multiple employment that results in a dual compensation situation.

In the State of Florida, there are 3 taxes that must be addressed during employment:

1. Social Security (4.20% of gross taxable wages up to $110,100 in 2012)
2. Medicare (1.45% of gross taxable wages)
3. Federal Withholding Tax (see IRS Publication 15, Employer’s Tax Guide)

Criteria for Exemption Eligibility:

1. The Graduate Catalog provides definitions for determining full-time status of a graduate student. In any given term, graduate students are considered full-time when they are registered for 9 hours in Fall and Spring terms, and 6 hours in Summer terms, or 3 hours of thesis or dissertation regardless of term. Please refer to "Full-time Enrollment Policies" in the current Graduate Catalog for complete details about this topic.
2. In order to be exempt from FICA tax, students must be (1) enrolled in at least ½ time status at UCF, (2) regularly attending classes in the semester at UCF and (3) working as a graduate assistant at UCF.
3. Students must be “scheduled” to work 32 hours or less in order to have FICA exception. A schedule is determined by the employing department and submitted to Human Resources via an ePAF. If an ePAF is submitted to HR with an incorrect schedule, this will not merit a refund of past taxes deducted.

Failure to meet the above criteria will result in the student paying Social Security (4.20%) and Medicare (1.45%) tax on the taxable gross paid for the pay period. Each department is responsible for the employer-matching portion of the tax and it will come out of the same funding department being charged for the student’s salary.

Keep in mind that graduate students are limited in the number of hours they may work by Graduate Studies. In some cases, a Supplemental Assignment Form is required. Even if the form is approved, if the student works 33 or more hours, they will become subject to FICA taxes.

Undergraduate Student Employees
Premise:
Undergraduate students are defined as those with a pay classification of OPSSTU.

Criteria for Exemption Eligibility:

1. The Student Financial Assistance Employment Manual and Undergraduate Catalog provide definitions for determining full-time status of an undergraduate student. In any given term, undergraduate students are considered full-time when they are registered for 12 hours in Fall, Spring, or Summer terms. However, the IRS uses the US Department of Education’s definition of half time for undergraduates which is six hours.
2. In order to be exempt from FICA tax, students must be (1) enrolled in at least ½ time status at UCF, (2) regularly attending classes in the semester at UCF and (3) working as a student assistant at UCF.
3. Students must be “scheduled” to work 32 hours or less in order to have FICA exception. A schedule is determined by the employing department and submitted to Human Resources via a ePAF. If a ePAF is submitted HR with an incorrect schedule, this will not merit a refund of past taxes deducted.

• Treasury Decision 9167: Final regulations published December 21, 2004.


• Revenue Procedure 2005-11: Safe harbor standards that colleges and universities can apply in determining if an employee is eligible for the student FICA exception.


• Background Information: Background information on the final regulations and revenue procedure providing guidance on the student FICA exception (section 3121(b)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code).

Federal Withholding Tax

All Employees
All employees are subject to federal withholding tax based on the way the W-4 Card is completed. Factors on this card that determine the amount of tax are Marital Status, Number of Withholding Allowances, any Additional Amount Claimed and if the Exemption Box is completed or not.

In order to determine the correct amount of federal withholding tax that will be deducted from each paycheck, please visit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website and review Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide, for bi-weekly tax tables.

One exception allowed for not paying federal withholding tax relates to employees who are from a country which shares a tax treaty with the United States. Certain conditions must be met and UCF, as the withholding agent, reserves the right to deny a tax treaty benefit based on information obtained. For more information, please visit the Non-Resident Alien Employment page.

The second exception allowed is when an employee claims exemption from withholding and certifies that he or she has met all of the conditions for exemption stated on the W-4 Form. Exemption from withholding in this manner expires on February 16th of the following calendar year from which the form was signed.

Note: Most of the forms on this site are in PDF format, unless otherwise indicated, and require Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which you can obtain from the following link: