San Luis Obispo County residents making $70,000 or less in gross income can skip filing taxes online and make use of free tax return preparation at Cal Poly.
SLO county’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is offering the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified service through the Orfalea College of Business where trained student volunteers are stepping up to help community members maximize their refunds.
“We’re providing these low-income residents with a lot of credits and refunds that they wouldn’t know they were eligible for,” business administration major and practicing tax preparer Grace O’Connor said.
VITA has partnered with Cal Poly since 1992, 31 years after CSU Northridge professor Gary Iskowitz founded the program. He envisioned it to be symbiotic—providing local taxpayers with free tax return preparation while students gain a hands-on learning experience. Eventually, the IRS started sponsoring VITA.
The program grew from a small group of accounting students to a nationwide program with more than 92,000 volunteers preparing 3.2 million returns every year, according to IRS research.
With a little more than 100 student volunteers, Cal Poly is one of the 9,500 sites across the United States that works with VITA.
“I have a concentration in accounting, so it aligns with VITA perfectly because in VITA we are preparing taxes,” O’Connor said. “VITA is our senior project. It’s a four-unit course we are taking, and it’s one of the grad requirements.”
Tax return preparation takes place every Saturday until March 14 on the third floor of the Business Building next to the football stadium on Cal Poly’s campus.
People wanting to file their tax returns with VITA need to bring a valid photo ID like their driver’s license; original Social Security cards and birth dates for themselves, their spouses, and dependents; earning statements like W-2s; interest and dividend statements from banks, like the Form 1099; bank routing and account numbers for direct deposits; a copy of last year’s federal and state returns if available; health insurance coverage information, Covered California Form 1095-A; and all other current tax documents including relevant income and expense information.
Residents without Social Security cards can bring their Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers, or VITA could obtain one for them if they haven’t previously applied for it.
Renters must also provide the name, address, and phone number of their landlord. Day care users must detail their provider’s identifying number, phone number, and the amount paid for the service.
“It’s definitely dependent on the individual taxpayer situation but the taxpayer would arrive, the greeter would show them to where they need to go, check in, and be met with a preparer like myself,” O’Connor said. “It could range from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.”
Not all kinds of returns are accepted at VITA. The program can’t help if a person has more than five capital gains transactions or stock sales, rental income, income from a partnership or trust, depreciation related to business income, multi-state tax forms, and Form 1040 NR. VITA also doesn’t handle returns for taxpayers checking off the “married filing separate” box.
Tax filers who can’t make it to Cal Poly have other options. They can get help at 1551 17th St. in Oceano at the Adult Education Center downhill from the elementary school. Santa Maria’s Allan Hancock College will also host VITA in Building S-103 at 800 S. College Drive. Both services will take place every Saturday until March 14.
All locations are by appointment only. Sign up at myfreetaxes.org, call (805) 756-2667, or email vita@calpoly.edu.
Fast fact
• 805 Games—a sports event for children and adults with developmental disabilities—received a $3,000 donation from United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) SLO. Accepted by Jody Watty of UCP SLO on Feb. 11, the contribution originally came from the Central Coast Funds for Children. The funding will help more than 600 athletes scheduled to compete in 805 Games happening at Cuesta College South County on May 1 at 9 a.m. ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Weddings 2026.