Judge Orders Refund for U. of Minnesota

By Katherine Mangan

A federal judge in Minneapolis ordered the Internal Revenue Service to refund the University of Minnesota $1.1-million in Social Security and Medicare taxes he said the government improperly levied on medical residents in 2005.

Judge Richard H. Kyle of the U.S. district court for Minnesota ruled that the medical residents qualified for a student exemption from the payroll taxes (known as FICA taxes).

In 2005 the IRSchanged its regulations to state that medical residents are