unsure of tax withholdings

[rubyred 0]

i've been working on a J-1 visa for the last 11 months, and because of my non-immigrant/nonresident status i've only been paying the basic state and federal tax - no medicare or social security. i'm in the midst of the AOS process and i've just received my new EAD. should i be paying more tax now that i'm applying for residence, or not until after i receive my conditional green card?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

It will all come out in the wash as they say. When you file your 2009 taxes next year, you will work out what you owe based on how you file. You will have a resident alien and non-resident alien year (dual status) perhaps and your tax owed will be finalized at that time based on how much of the year you were what. Or you could file jointly with your spouse as married filing joint and be a resident alien all year. There's a number of options and you pick which works out best for you. However, if you're not holding out enough on you paycheck now, more will be collected at the end. If you start holding out more now, then you won't owe as much or may get a refund at the end. The withholding is only an estimate to pay along toward that final tax filing. After the green card, then you should change the withholding for sure just to be more accurate in the estimate of what your final tax will be.

[rubyred 0]

that's great advice - thanks so much!

[anitacastillo 0]

It will all come out in the wash as they say. When you file your 2009 taxes next year, you will work out what you owe based on how you file. You will have a resident alien and non-resident alien year (dual status) perhaps and your tax owed will be finalized at that time based on how much of the year you were what. Or you could file jointly with your spouse as married filing joint and be a resident alien all year. There's a number of options and you pick which works out best for you. However, if you're not holding out enough on you paycheck now, more will be collected at the end. If you start holding out more now, then you won't owe as much or may get a refund at the end. The withholding is only an estimate to pay along toward that final tax filing. After the green card, then you should change the withholding for sure just to be more accurate in the estimate of what your final tax will be.

This response seems to address how federal and state taxes work -- withhold from paychecks and then finalize during tax return prep.

But the OP says they are paying fed and state tax - but not SS and Medicare. I'm not sure how/when the gov't knows that you should be paying into those. The J-1 visa is in effect until the green card is issued. The EAD covers you if the J-1 expires before you receive the green card.

My suggestion to the OP is to let your employer know when you have receive your green card and they should adjust your withholdings to include SS & Medicard.