(December 12, 2014) WATERFORD, Wis. —The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the 2015 national optional business mileage deduction rate of 57.5 cents for U.S. business drivers, effective Jan. 1, 2015.

To establish the rate, the IRS worked closely with Runzheimer International, the company that has provided annual vehicle cost data to the IRS since 1980. Runzheimer International is the industry leader in employee mobility solutions, including business vehicle reimbursements, business travel, relocation, routing and logistics, and mobile device expense management. The company also provides mobility benchmark data to organizations in the U.S. and Canada.

The 2015 rate of 57.5 cents reflects a cent-and-a-half per mile increase as compared to the current rate of 56 cents-per-mile, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2014.

"Although fuel costs are trending lower, that decrease is offset by increases to the annual fixed cost components, such as vehicle capital costs and residual values," said Cris Robinson, research analysis supervisor of Runzheimer International. "The result is an increase in the mileage deduction rate for 2015.  The data Runzheimer International collects for the IRS highlights the shifts in market conditions nationwide and enables the IRS and other organizations to make more informed business decisions related to vehicle costs."

The 57.5 cents-per-mile rate is the amount that a U.S. taxpayer can deduct for vehicle expenses on a 2015 tax return for recorded business miles.