Students don’t have to be driven mad by the tedious chore of dealing with their taxes this year.

The Student Accounting Society is working with the Internal Revenue Service to provide volunteer income tax assistance to students and community members.

SAS is providing assistance to low income community members at Oakwood Mall, 4800 Golf Road, and, for the first time in more than a decade, it is offering assistance to students on campus at Davies Center.

“The students receiving help have really appreciated it,” said Lucretia Mattson, SAS adviser.

Mattson said students are able to get their questions answered easily without paying a fee.

She said the decision to offer assistance to students on campus was the choice of the SAS members.

“The (SAS members) wanted to offer the service to other students,” Mattson said.

The service is not entirely a selfless act. Mattson said the students providing the service also are benefiting from the experience.

“They will get practical experience with the material they learn in class,” she said.

Mattson said that the accounting students also will gain experience with the public and clients, will be able to develop their communication skills, will learn to ask the right questions and will have a chance to give back to the community.

The SAS members have the opportunity to receive service-learning credit for the hours they volunteer their assistance.

Senior Chris Peterson, third-year veteran of the group and this year’s coordinator of the program at Eau Claire, said he has benefited from the program in the past.

“It was good for me to develop my skills and practice,” Peterson said adding that it was gratifying to make a difference in someone’s life.

The SAS will also be offering a special help session for foreign students in early March.

The student group is offering assistance from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays in Davies Center until April 12 and 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at Oakwood Mall until April 16.