If you’ve filed for an extension for reporting last year’s federal income tax, your deadline is quickly arriving. Here are some important resources to help you make that deadline.

File your taxes for free. The Free File Alliance allows residents in most states to file for free as long as the taxpayer meets certain qualifications. Here is a list of different services that provide options to file your tax return for free.

Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate Calculator. If you haven’t heard, many people who earned income in 2007 are eligible to receive some of their taxes back in the form of the economic stimulus. This calculator helps you estimate how much the government owes you for this particular payment. The deadline for filing your taxes to receive a stimulus payment is October 15.

TurboTax Online (the Federal Free Edition) is one of the most popular methods of filing taxes without an accountant. I’ve used this in the past and I was happy with the results.

The online version is good for simple taxes, but if you have more complex situations, you may want to try TurboTax Premier (with support for investments and rental properties) or TurboTax Deluxe to focus on deductions you may receive for mortgage interest paid, donations, or education expenses. Self-employed individuals may opt for TurboTax Home and Business.

H&R Block also offers a variety of software for filing your taxes, all available for completing your federal income tax filing before the October 15 deadline. H&R Block comes in several different flavors, including software packages on CD-ROM and online editions. One of these online services is directed towards young taxpayers, Tango.

I filed my taxes with TaxAct, as I have for the past few years, after switching from TurboTax Online when it was no longer free for me.

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This year, H&R Block has assembled an online community to promote its tax preparation products and services. The H&R Block Digits website is a forum where visitors can talk with each other about taxes as well as other random topics, like the one titled, “When You’re All Done Having the Babies.”

This new site is heavy with multimedia, mostly featuring the H&R Block Digits mascot, “Truman Greene.” His purpose is to entertain while praising H&R Block’s TaxCut Software, but he misses the mark just about as much as any corporation’s attempt to cater to younger generations. Corporate marketing tends to underestimate the intelligence of customers, and I fear that the Digits campaign is not an exception. Or maybe I’m just getting old.

Digits also offers podcasts and links to some useful tax calculators (like the tax estimator and a deduction finder).

I’m considering filing my taxes using H&R Block’s new Tango product, if not officially, at least to compare my results with what I’ve already calculated using TaxAct. I like the idea of having access to “real live tax professionals” any hour, any day, and this service may be worth a shot in a year in which I should have been working with a tax accountant in person.

When it comes down to the bottom line, a tax tool is only as useful as its ability to provide an accurate tax return. H&R Block’s new Digits website is flashy, and Tango appears to be, as well. The proof will be in the results.

By the way, H&R Block still offers refund anticipation loans, a pricey way to receive your refund, if any, early. These loans can be expensive when fees are viewed as an interest rate as most loan “fees” are, so avoid these if possible. The IRS is much quicker these days, especially if you opt for direct deposit, so the few weeks you may save are most likely not worth the fees. Even worse, H&R Block offers to lower your loan fee if you sign up for a prepaid credit card.

Have any thoughts about Digits? Let us know.

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First, Reuters opened a news bureau in Second Life, a virtual reality game that people connect to through the internet to live out fantasy lives in the comfort of their own desk chairs.

Now, while Congress is still trying to determine how to tax income in virtual worlds, H&R Block is joining the Land of Make-Believe. The tax company is opening an office in Second Life where avatars, controlled by real human tax professionals, will answer questions and provide resources.

Real-life tax professionals will be available in avatar form online to answer tax-related questions for free and will hold office hours in Second Life from 6 to 7 p.m. PST on Tuesdays and Thursdays through April 17. Among other features, a main auditorium will also allow visitors to watch a video describing the development of Block’s new tax preparation product, Tango.

Tango costs $70 in our real world but goes for 100 Linden dollars within the game. If you want to visit this virtual tax office, log into your Second Life account and visit this link. As of right now, Tango is only open to beta testers, but they’ve been keeping a blog with some thoughts on tax in general. Check out Rita’s posts dealing with language.

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