Yesterday, I received five USB flash drives containing the TaxCut software, and I intend on giving each one of these away to Consumerism Commentary readers. Last year, I didn’t receive these flash drives until April 11, a little too late for tax filing purposes. Also, last year’s drives were only 256 MB. The drives I received yesterday have four times the capacity. Even if you’ve already filed your taxes or are using other software, you can still win one of these 1 GB flash drives and erase the data. You can then put music, photos, or any other kinds of computer files on these USB drives.

I’ve never used TaxCut before, so I can’t vouch for the software’s quality. Over the last few years I’ve been using TaxAct, and before that, TurboTaxOnline. TaxCut is a popular product, and I’d suggest reading the CNET Review for pros and cons.

If you’re interested in being selected to win a USB flash drive containing TaxCut Premium Federal + State + e-file, leave a comment below on this post. The comment could be an interesting anecdote about your own tax situation or someone else’s, it could be a joke, or it could be anything else. There are two catches. I’ll only send a drive to a United States address, and you’ll need to include a real email address so I can contact you if you win.

This probably goes without saying, but we’ll only take one submission per person and IP address.

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.

The popularity of filing tax returns online has risen in the past few years thanks to online programs that make it incredibly easy. Unfortunately, the IRS doesn’t let you file your taxes online directly, you have to go through third parties like H&R Block or Intuit to do so. My third part of choice over the past couple of years has been TaxAct.

The fees that we pay to file taxes online allow the IRS to do less manual work. It seems they should offer the service for free, but the government partners with software vendors who are willing to offer the service for profit, although some service do offer federal filing for free if your income is below a certain limit.

I-CAN! is a new service from a non-profit organization that offers free tax filing for everyone. Well, almost everyone:

You can generally use I-CAN!™ E-file unless you own a business, are a church employee or clergy member, sold real estate in 2007 or you or your employer have a non-US address. If you are in the military or you are disabled you may be eligible for tax credits that are not included in I-CAN!™ E-file.

I-CAN! is proud of the fact they don’t offer instant loans or cash based on anticipated refunds, like the bg guys. These are strong moneymakers, but are often viewed as a little unethical. The fee for these loans, when represented as an interest rate, border on predatory.

I would have liked to try I-CAN!’s software for comparison with the calculations presented by other software. I’ve read at least one complaint that I-CAN! has made significant errors in calculation; one commenter on Consumerist noted his 1099-MISC was not included when determining the final tax bill. Since I will require a Schedule C, I will unfortunately not qualify to use the I-CAN! software.

If you are able to use the software to file your taxes and would like to compare the results with those from other calculations or software, feel free to check back in and let us know.