Jump drive with a virus

If I have a flash drive that I think may have a virus on it, but also has some important tax stuff on it, is there a way I can get at the files without endangering my computer?

Try Panda USB Vaccine, which automates turning off autorun (Meaning no usb device can infect your PC just from being plugged in), and features a function to attempt to protect any the device from being infected (Though don't rely on that, it might not work when you need it most).

Once autorun is off, you can safely plug it in - just make sure not to execute -anything- on the drive. Yes, that includes your important tax stuff. Run everything through a virus scan.

Use a Live-CD to read out the data. Copy them into an folder (only the files you need) on your harddisk, and do a scan of that folder right after boot, before even looking into it. You should be save with that.

Edit: Oh, and of course do not plug the drive in while in Windows! Wipe it clean (and I mean reformatting) using the Live-CD after you're done.