Public HR Knowledge Base - How to Troubleshoot Student FICA/DCP Deductions

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Overview

Wage payments are subject to FICA withholding. For student employees, FICA is the combination of Medicare and DCP Safe Harbor.

Students enrolled in 6 units, or more, and are employed for a total of less than 80%, are exempt from FICA withholding on that month’s pay.
All international students (F-1 and J-1 visas) who are nonresident aliens (for U.S. tax purposes only) are exempt from Student FICA. This is contingent to the completion of Glacier records. To verify visa status for this exemption, students must email glacier@ucsd.edu.

FICA withholding errors may be the result of an SSN mismatch across systems or not having an SSN. To get a FICA refund, follow the steps below.

Review the full explanation of Student FICA here.

Note: The first enrollment file for Fall Quarter is sent about a week before classes start. This is a hard requirement from UCPath. If a student enrolls for the first time for Fall Quarter after the file is sent, then they will not be on the list for FICA withholding exemption until a subsequent file is sent. All students enrolled in at least one class for Fall Quarter are included in the first file. For Fall Quarter 2025, the file was sent on 9/19/25, capturing enrollment for that term on or before 9/18/25. This means students who enrolled for the first time after 9/18/25 are not captured on the file.

Steps to Take – Student Employee

Confirm that your SSN matches across all systems.
1. Verify/Update SSN in UCPath
  1. Student employees may view or update their own SSN in UCPath:
    1. Login to UCPath and select Employee Actions > Personal Information > Social Security Number > Change/Update SSN
    2. If SSN requires an update, contact your Department HR or Student Employment Coordinator. Unit-level HR Contacts and Student Employment Coordinators may update the student employee’s UCPath data using the Personal Data Change template.
2. Verify/Update SSN with Registrar’s Office
  1. The student can verify their SSN with the Office of the Registrar by submitting their current SSN documentation via the SSN Update Request Form.
    1. If the SSN is incorrect, the Registrar's Office will make the update to match the provided SSN within a week.
    2. If the SSN is correct, no updates will be made.
  2. If you run into issues submitting the form, reach out to academicrecords@ucsd.edu.
Confirm you are enrolled in 6 or more units.
1. Order Official e-Transcript from the Office of the Registrar. Transcript contains units for current and past terms.
  1. If transcript shows student was enrolled in less than 6 units, student is not eligible for the FICA/DCP exemption
  2. If transcript confirms student is enrolled in 6 or more units, the student should work with their HR/Student Employment Coordinator to update units in UCPath, and ask to submit a UCPath Center refund request case.

Steps to Take – Department HR/Student Employment Coordinator

Confirm Student's Enrollment.
1. To see an overview of the student’s unit count (enrollment history) use Find a Student. PID or name required.
  1. For a student’s summarized enrollment view, use the Academic History link.
  2. For a detailed history of the student’s enrollment transactions, use the Term Audit link.
Update the student employee's student status in UCPath.
1. Log in to UCPath
2. Navigate to Workforce Administration (Homepage) > HR Tasks tile > Personal Data Related > Person Profiles
  1. In the Person Profiles page, the system will display a Find an Existing Value tab, which is used to search for the appropriate employee record. Enter a search criteria in one or more of the search fields on this page.
3. Select the Empl ID field
4. Enter the desired information in the Empl ID field
5. Select the Search button
  1. The Person Profile page will appear for the selected employee. There are several tabs available where you can update various types of information.
6. Select the UC Student Status tab
7. Select the appropriate student status (Undergraduate Student or Graduate Student)
8. Enter the effective date and number of enrolled units
9. Select OK
10. Select the Save button
Submit a case to the UCPath Center via Ask UCPath.
1. Log in to UCPath
2. Select the yellow Ask UCPath button
3. Select Submit an Inquiry tab. It will show your open and recently closed inquiries if you have any
4. Click on the Submit An Inquiry button
  1. What can UCPath assist you with: FICA Refund for Full-Time Student
  2. Please provide a detailed description of your issue: Student is enrolled in 6 or more units at UCSD in [insert month] and is therefore exempt from FICA withholding (Medicare and DC Plan Safe Harbor). Please process a refund.
5. Click on Next to continue. You will be redirected to the resources page.
6. Click on Submit an Inquiry

Optional Steps for Staff to Take When Troubleshooting

Unit-level HR Contacts and some Student Employment Coordinators and Graduate Coordinators may have access to run the Student Employee Registration Report to check for a SSN Mismatch.

Go to the Business Analytics Hub at https://bah.ucsd.edu/
Select the HR/Payroll tab
1. Card View
  1. Select HR Resource Reports tab > Select the Student Employee Registration Report OR
  2. Select All Reports tab > Keyword search by Student
2. List View
  1. Keyword search by Student and select the Student Employee Registration Report
Launch the report (recommended to open into a new tab).
Log in with your SSO credentials.
Complete the sections as needed. Make sure to select Active in HR Status
Select Run. Student employees that have a SSN Mismatch will automatically be sorted to show first.
If you need to filter for Mismatch only:
1. Filter within Cognos
  1. Turn Editing on using the button at the top left
  2. Select the first data cell under registration status
  3. Select the filter icon
  4. Select Include Null – (SSN Mismatch and/or Not Registered) to only list these students
2. Download into an Excel Form
  1. Select the “HTML” tab to change format to Excel
  2. Excel report will auto-download

Additional Resources

If escalation to UCPath Center is needed, please submit a request to Campus HR Time and Pay Team via the General Inquiry Form in the Employee Center (Specifically: Payroll Discrepancy).