Revenue Ruling 2005-69 - October 31, 2005

LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The August 2005 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, August 31, 2005.

The following Department Store Inventory Price Indexes for August 2005 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, August 31, 2005.

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		Aug. 2004	Aug. 2005	Percent Change from Aug. 2004 to Aug. 2005¹
1.	Piece Goods	513.2	486.8	-5.1
2.	Domestics and Draperies	525.7	512.2	-2.6
3.	Women’s and Children’s Shoes	623.7	661.5	6.1
4.	Men’s Shoes	838.6	875.1	4.4
5.	Infants’ Wear	561.1	554.0	-1.3
6.	Women’s Underwear	502.4	542.8	8.0
7.	Women’s Hosiery	337.5	339.1	0.5
8.	Women’s and Girls’ Accessories	557.2	585.4	5.1
9.	Women’s Outerwear and Girls’ Wear	341.4	331.2	-3.0
10.	Men’s Clothing	524.4	527.1	0.5
11.	Men’s Furnishings	564.3	557.0	-1.3
12.	Boys’ Clothing and Furnishings	414.5	384.1	-7.3
13.	Jewelry	902.5	888.5	-1.6
14.	Notions	794.8	810.5	2.0
15.	Toilet Articles and Drugs	992.7	998.0	0.5
16.	Furniture and Bedding	607.8	598.5	-1.5
17.	Floor Coverings	581.5	614.0	5.6
18.	Housewares	709.6	708.6	-0.1
19.	Major Appliances	196.9	203.9	3.6
20.	Radio and Television	41.2	38.7	-6.1
21.	Recreation and Education²	80.1	77.3	-3.5
22.	Home Improvements²	129.2	136.0	5.3
23.	Automotive Accessories²	112.8	115.9	2.7

Groups 1-15: Soft Goods		546.4	544.8	-0.3
Groups 16-20: Durable Goods		379.2	378.6	-0.2
Groups 21-23: Misc. Goods²		93.1	92.6	-0.5

	Store Total³	487.1	485.7	-0.3

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.

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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).

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LIFO; Price Indexes; Department Stores

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