The Internal Revenue Service on Jan. 1, 2014, will lower its business mileage rate by one half-cent to 56 cents per mile.

Many companies use the rate to calculate reimbursements for employees who use personal vehicles for business, though IRS noted that "taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates." IRS adjusts the rate annually based on analysis "of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile."