University of Tennessee, Medical Intern/Resident FICA Refund Project

December 6, 2011

Dear Former UT Medical Resident,

As a result of the recent inquiry from the IRS related to the FICA Tax Refund claims, the University has reviewed the payments made to the residents during that period and found numerous “additional” payments that were deemed not directly related to services as a resident. Examples included “moonlighting” payments from the UT Medical Group and the Bowld Hospital, Tenncare stipends, etc. The taxes paid on these additional payments have been removed from the claims and the revised amounts re-submitted to the IRS. I will communicate the changes to those residents affected by these reductions within the next few days either by email (if we have your email address) or by US Mail. If you have not already done so, you may provide your email address by sending us an email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu.

Please note: No further information is known at this time about the status of the disputed claims for the years 2000-2003.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu or by phone at (865) 974-2568.

Regards,

Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims Team

November 15, 2011

Dear Former UT Medical Resident,

The University has received correspondence from the Internal Revenue Service related to the FICA Tax Refund claims filed by the University. The IRS has made an initial review of the claims for the years January 1, 1994 thru March 31, 2005 and has requested additional information from the University. We are gathering that information as quickly as possible.

Please note: No further information is known at this time about the status of the disputed claims for the years 2000-2003.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu or by phone at (865) 974-2568.

Regards,

Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims Team

October 10, 2011

Dear Former UT Medical Resident,

To date, the University has still not received a formal response from the IRS related to the filing of the medical resident FICA refund claims other than to acknowledge receipt.

We do not know how long it will take for the federal government to process the refunds. Information about the progress of the claims and the disbursement process will be posted on this website http://ficarefund.tennessee.edu/ as soon as this information becomes available.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu or by phone at (865) 974-2568.

Regards,

Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims Team

June 24, 2011

Dear Former UT Medical Resident,

To date, the University has received no official response from the IRS related to the filing of the medical resident FICA refund claims other than to acknowledge receipt.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu or by phone at (865) 974-2568.

Regards,

Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims Team

May 6, 2011

Dear Former UT Medical Resident,

As you know, The University of Tennessee has submitted “perfected” claims with the IRS for refund of FICA and Medicare taxes for the years 1994 thru March 31, 2005. The IRS has acknowledged receipt of those claims but has given the University no indication of the timeline required to review, approve, and remit the refunds back to the University.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu or by phone at (865) 974-2568.

Regards,

Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims Team

January 19, 2011

Dear Former UT Medical Resident:

As you know, The University of Tennessee filed claims for refund of social security and Medicare taxes paid on wages earned for services performed by medical residents for tax periods beginning January 1, 1994 and ending March 31, 2005. These taxes are Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes and the claims are referred to as Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims (or MR claims).

On March 2, 2010, the IRS announced it would honor the MR claims. Between July and December of 2010, the University attempted to contact each former resident to share this development and to solicit consent forms allowing the University to act on your behalf in obtaining the refunds. The University has now submitted a “perfected’ claim to the IRS containing the summarized information from those consent forms.

Upon receipt of the perfected claims, the IRS will verify the amount of the MR claims and begin issuing refunds plus statutory interest. The University will, in turn, remit those claim amounts, plus interest, to all residents who submitted a consent form. The FICA tax refund is not taxable; however, the interest on the refund is taxable to you whether or not you receive a Form 1099-INT, Interest Income. The University is required to file Form 1099-INT with the IRS and furnish a copy to you if you are paid interest of $600 or more in a calendar year. Additionally, the University will file Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, with Social Security Administration (SSA), and furnish a copy to you for each tax year for which you receive a refund of FICA taxes.

The precise amount of your refund will not be known until the IRS has processed the refund claims and calculated the interest due on the claims. In addition, we have received no indication from the IRS when that payment will occur.

We do not know how long it will take for the federal government to process the refunds. Information about the progress of the claims and the disbursement process will be posted on the website ficarefund.tennessee.edu as soon as this information becomes available.

Please be advised that the IRS has indicated that they did not receive timely filed protective claims from the University for the years 2000-2003 and may not honor refunds for those years. The University plans to appeal this decision and will update the website as future events develop. Receipt of the original protective claims has been confirmed by the IRS for all other years between 1994 and 2005. Further, the University cannot guarantee that the IRS will honor any of the MR claims and issue a refund. Until the IRS has fully evaluated our claims and issued a refund, there is no assurance that a refund is forthcoming.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at ficarefund@tennessee.edu or by phone at (865) 974-7329.

Regards,

Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims Team

See prior announcements.