Topics on this webpage:

MN Tax-Aide Locations  |  Our Service Models  |  Making An Appointment  |  Preparing For Appointment  |  What We Need From You  |  Additional Resources

For the 2024 Tax Year, our sites will be open from the first week in February 2025 to April 14, 2025.

Most of our sites operate by Appointment Only. 

Appointments are limited and many sites fill up by early February.

See information below on how to find a location and make an appointment.

Welcome to AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, the free tax preparation program provided by AARP Foundation volunteers.  AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is the largest free, volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation program in the United States.

In Minnesota, we offer in-person and virtual tax preparation help to anyone for both federal and Minnesota State taxes as well as for Property Tax refunds for renters and homeowners.  Our services are free of charge, focusing on taxpayers who are 50 or older with low to middle income or to those who cannot afford paid tax preparation.

MN Tax-Aide Locations

Tax-Aide service sites are open from early-February through mid-April.  To locate the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site use the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Locator or call 888-227-7669.  The locator is updated regularly from mid-January through early-April.

In addition to Tax-Aide sites, there may be other Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs in your area.  To locate the nearest VITA or TCE site near you, use the VITA Locator Tool or call 800-906-9887.

The dates and times that each site is open varies by site.  Most service sites require advance appointments; typically walk-in service will not be available.  Please keep in mind that most sites do not begin taking appointments until mid-January.

Our Service Models

Depending upon the specific site, there are generally two types of site-base tax return preparation services available:

• • In-Person — Tax-Aide’s traditional in-person service where you will sit across a table from the IRS-certified Tax-Aide Counselor and the Quality Reviewer while your tax returns are being prepared and reviewed.
  • Low-Contact — Taxpayers interact with IRS-certified Tax-Aide volunteers in one or two short in-person meetings to exchange documents; taxes are prepared and filed by IRS-certified tax counselors.

Note: At select tax sites, taxpayers also have an option to prepare their own basic federal and state tax return for free using web-based tax preparation software with an IRS-certified volunteer to help guide you through the process.  This option is only available at locations that list “Self-Prep” in the site listing.

Making and Updating an Appointment

Use the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Locator  to find a location that is convenient for you.

Once you find a site using the AARP Tax-Aide Locator, call the phone number that is associated with the site to make an appointment.  Keep in mind that many of the appointment phone lines are staffed by volunteers working limited hours, so you may need to leave a voice mail message.

​Once you have a confirmed appointment, if you find that you need to cancel it or change it, please call the site back and let them know ASAP.  If you need to change it, they will help find another suitable time.  If you need to cancel it, the time slot can be re-opened for another person.

Preparing for Your Appointment

You — the taxpayer — are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of your return, please refer to the Taxpayer Responsibilities Document listed in the section below.  You must provide our volunteers with complete information and all your tax forms and data.  Also, please refer to the Items To Bring To Tax Appointment listed in the section below to help you prepare for your appointment.

Note: Some tax sites may have “Intake Packets” available that you should pick-up several weeks before your appointment.  As a minimum, these packets will contain the Intake Booklet, the MN Supplemental Intake Questions, and a Checklist of What to Bring to Your Appointment.  If you cannot pickup an “Intake Packet”, you can download and print them from the links below.  IMPORTANT — Please fill these documents out at home before you come to your appointment.

Please be aware that volunteer tax preparers have limitations, based on the complexity of the return; see the Taxpayer Scope Document listed in the section below for tax-related matters that we cannot help with.  If a tax return requires a form or knowledge outside the scope of our program, our training, or our IRS certification, we cannot file it.  Also, available services can vary at each site due to the availability of volunteers certified with the tax law expertise required for certain situation in your return.

​We file returns electronically, we do not file paper returns except under very special circumstances, and we do not provide legal or financial advice.