Start now the refund process with a free estimation of your taxes at the following link:
Everything you need to know about taxes
| All the students that have worked during the summer in USA with J-1 Work and Travel program have had taxes withheld from their paychecks. Students have to pay federal and state taxes, but there are also situations when employers withhold FICA taxes (medicare and social security taxes). |
Type of taxes
Federal Taxes
These taxes are paid by everyone who works on USA territory. Internal Revenue Services or IRS is the one that collects all these taxes, and usually federal taxes represent 10-12% from income.
State taxes
These taxes depend on the states where the revenue was registered. The amount withheld varies from 3% to 6%. There are also some states that don`t collect these taxes.
Local Taxes
These taxes depend on the city you work in. Recovery of these taxes depends on that city in particular.
FICA taxes
These taxes should be only for residents, but some employers don`t know the process so they retain them from you paycheck also. They can be recovered, but the process is longer and more complex.
What are the next steps?
Tax return estimate
Global Friends will try to refund the legal maximum amount you can have from the taxes that were withheld from your paychecks. The process official starts at the end of January 2019, but you can start your file with us anytime in 2018 also.
File
If you decided to apply with us, first we will make an estimate of your taxes, and after that we will send you a list with all the documents we need ( some examples: W-2, passport, SSN).
Time
The process usually takes between 6 and 12 weeks, but all depends on Internal Revenue Services. If they want to strictly check your file and request additional info, the process can prolong.
Cost
The fee is 90$ and it can be paid when you apply (if you want to receive taxes in your american bank account), or when you receive the checks. It is not deducted from your taxes.
