When you sit down with your tax records, you ought to find it easy to tote up your big charitable contributions -- what you gave to your church or synagogue or a disaster relief group.

But don't forget to check your pay stub for how much you gave to the United Way or other charities via payroll deduction. And don't throw away tax savings by overlooking the little things, such as out-of-pocket expenses paid while volunteering at a school, for example, or helping with a charitable fund-raiser.

Deductions include things like parking fees, tolls, stamps, long-distance phone calls and a fixed per-mile rate if you drove your own car for charitable purposes. (For most charitable driving in 2007, the rate is 14 cents a mile.

Did you prepare food for a church-sponsored homeless shelter? The cost of the ingredients counts as a deductible expense if you itemize. All this might sound like nickels and dimes, but it can really add up. And don't feel chintzy about it either. The more you save in taxes, the more generous you can be this year. For any donations, ask the charitable group for a written acknowledgment of your gift.

One other tip: If you and your spouse use different checkbooks, make sure you go through both registers to uncover all the contributions you made.

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