Supreme Court Grants Cert to Decide Whether Medical Residents Are Subject to FICA Taxes

The Supreme Court today granted certiorari (09-837) to review the Eighth Circuit's holding that medical residents who work more than 40 hours per week at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota are subject to employment taxes.  Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research v. United States, No. 07-3242 (8th Cir. June 12, 2009).  From SCOTUSBlog:

Issue: Whether the Treasury Department can categorically exclude all medical residents and other full-time employees from the definition of “student” in 26 U.S.C. § 3121(b)(10), which exempts from Social Security taxes “service performed in the employ of a school, college, or university” by a “student who is enrolled and regularly attending classes at such school, college, or university.”

• Opinion below (8th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioners’ reply
• Amicus brief of Georgetown University et al.
• Amicus brief of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
• Amicus brief of the Association of American Medical Colleges
• Amicus brief of the American Hospital Association

See also:

• Associated Press
• Dow Jones
• Inside Higher Ed

For prior TaxProf Blog coverage, see Medical Residents and the Student FICA Exception (Jan. 30, 2010).