Internal Revenue Bulletins  
Revenue Ruling 2006-23 April 24, 2006

LIFO; Price Indexes; Department Stores

LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The February 2006 Bureau of Labor Statistics price indexes are accepted for use by department stores employing the retail inventory and last-in, first-out inventory methods for valuing inventories for tax years ended on, or with reference to, February 28, 2006.

The following Department Store Inventory Price Indexes for February 2006 were issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The indexes are accepted by the Internal Revenue Service, under § 1.472-1(k) of the Income Tax Regulations and Rev. Proc. 86-46, 1986-2 C.B. 739, for appropriate application to inventories of department stores employing the retail inventory and last-in, first-out inventory methods for tax years ended on, or with reference to, February 28, 2006.

The Department Store Inventory Price Indexes are prepared on a national basis and include (a) 23 major groups of departments, (b) three special combinations of the major groups — soft goods, durable goods, and miscellaneous goods, and (c) a store total, which covers all departments, including some not listed separately, except for the following: candy, food, liquor, tobacco, and contract departments.

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DEPARTMENT STORE INVENTORY PRICE INDEXES BY DEPARTMENT GROUPS (January 1941 = 100, unless otherwise noted)
Groups Feb. 2005 Feb. 2006 Percent Change from Feb. 2005 to Feb. 20061
1. Piece Goods 479.3 437.4 -8.7
2. Domestics and Draperies 533.5 499.5 -6.4
3. Women’s and Children’s Shoes 663.6 678.8 2.3
4. Men’s Shoes 852.2 869.8 2.1
5. Infants’ Wear 575.5 563.8 -2.0
6. Women’s Underwear 527.1 538.4 2.1
7. Women’s Hosiery 349.2 346.1 -0.9
8. Women’s and Girls’ Accessories 592.0 570.3 -3.7
9. Women’s Outerwear and Girls’ Wear 346.8 334.1 -3.7
10. Men’s Clothing 550.9 519.4 -5.7
11. Men’s Furnishings 574.2 556.4 -3.1
12. Boys’ Clothing and Furnishings 423.5 400.2 -5.5
13. Jewelry 878.8 857.6 -2.4
14. Notions 780.0 793.6 1.7
15. Toilet Articles and Drugs 998.7 1010.6 1.2
16. Furniture and Bedding 601.8 602.0 0.0
17. Floor Coverings 602.4 614.1 1.9
18. Housewares 713.8 698.0 -2.2
19. Major Appliances 203.7 204.3 0.3
20. Radio and Television 39.7 37.3 -6.0
21. Recreation and Education2 79.7 77.3 -3.0
22. Home Improvements2 136.1 139.2 2.3
23. Automotive Accessories2 113.9 117.4 3.1
         
Groups 1-15: Soft Goods 556.7 543.7 -2.3
Groups 16-20: Durable Goods 381.0 375.1 -1.5
Groups 21-23: Misc. Goods2 93.8 93.3 -0.5
       
  Store Total3 494.3 484.5 -2.0
         
1Absence of a minus sign before the percentage change in this column signifies a price increase.
2Indexes on a January 1986 = 100 base.
3The store total index covers all departments, including some not listed separately, except for the following: candy, food, liquor, tobacco, and contract departments.
         

DRAFTING INFORMATION

The principal author of this revenue ruling is Michael Burkom of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting). For further information regarding this revenue ruling, contact Mr. Burkom at (202) 622-7924 (not a toll-free call).

Internal Revenue Bulletin 2006-17

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