Cal Poly Students Offer Free Tax Prep Through VITA Program

Qualifying San Luis Obispo County residents can get their taxes filed for free by Cal Poly students through March 14.

Jan. 31, 2026 at 6:39pm

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Cal Poly's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is offering free tax preparation services to San Luis Obispo County residents who make less than $70,000 annually. The program, run by trained Cal Poly student volunteers, aims to help the local community by ensuring people take advantage of all the tax credits and refunds they're eligible for.

Why it matters

Tax preparation can be daunting and expensive, especially with changing tax laws each year. The VITA program provides an accessible and affordable option for low-to-moderate income residents to get their taxes filed accurately and maximize their refunds.

The details

The VITA program runs every Saturday from February 1 to March 14. Residents looking to participate must bring their Social Security card, a photo ID, and tax documents like W-2 forms. The student tax preparers are certified and dedicated to helping the local community, according to program coordinator Grace O'Connor.

  • The VITA program runs every Saturday from February 1 to March 14, 2026.
  • The tax preparation services are available through March 14, 2026.

The players

Cal Poly's VITA Program

A volunteer tax assistance program run by Cal Poly students that provides free tax preparation services to qualifying low-to-moderate income San Luis Obispo County residents.

Grace O'Connor

A tax preparer and coordinator for Cal Poly's VITA program.

Kevin Raach

A San Luis Obispo County resident who has used the VITA program to file his taxes.

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What they’re saying

“We're super nervous. We have to make sure we have everything prepared and to find somebody we trust and make sure we have all the papers.”

— Kevin Raach

“The goal here is to help our local community. I think that a lot of people don't realize how many credits and refunds that they're eligible for, especially with, tax laws changing year to year.”

— Grace O'Connor, Tax Preparer, Cal Poly VITA Program

“I think the entire VITA team is very dedicated and we've put in a lot of hours toward training and becoming certified to just help our local community and I think that's great. I'm very proud to be a part of Cal Poly VITA program.”

— Grace O'Connor, Tax Preparer, Cal Poly VITA Program

What’s next

Residents interested in using the VITA program's free tax preparation services can visit the Cal Poly campus every Saturday from February 1 to March 14, 2026 to meet with student tax preparers.

The takeaway

The Cal Poly VITA program provides a valuable service to the local community by offering free, accessible tax preparation assistance to low-to-moderate income residents. This helps ensure people maximize their tax refunds and take advantage of all the credits they're eligible for, especially as tax laws continue to evolve each year.