Revenue Ruling 2006-28, May 30, 2006

LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The March 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, March 31, 2006.

The following Department Store Inventory Price Indexes for March 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, March 31, 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		Mar. 2005	Mar. 2006	Percent Change from Mar. 2005 to Mar. 2006¹
1.	Piece Goods	465.1	442.9	-4.8
2.	Domestics and Draperies	536.8	495.7	-7.7
3.	Women’s and Children’s Shoes	685.9	703.1	2.5
4.	Men’s Shoes	849.9	875.8	3.0
5.	Infants’ Wear	571.0	569.9	-0.2
6.	Women’s Underwear	547.7	545.6	-0.4
7.	Women’s Hosiery	349.7	347.3	-0.7
8.	Women’s and Girls’ Accessories	607.0	583.1	-3.9
9.	Women’s Outerwear and Girls’ Wear	375.9	367.6	-2.2
10.	Men’s Clothing	564.8	542.9	-3.9
11.	Men’s Furnishings	587.0	571.3	-2.7
12.	Boys’ Clothing and Furnishings	445.9	408.0	-8.5
13.	Jewelry	882.1	854.9	-3.1
14.	Notions	777.7	792.2	1.9
15.	Toilet Articles and Drugs	991.4	1008.3	1.7
16.	Furniture and Bedding	604.2	603.6	-0.1
17.	Floor Coverings	602.4	619.5	2.8
18.	Housewares	712.2	696.4	-2.2
19.	Major Appliances	205.0	204.2	-0.4
20.	Radio and Television	39.5	37.1	-6.1
21.	Recreation and Education²	79.6	77.2	-3.0
22.	Home Improvements²	137.3	139.5	1.6
23.	Automotive Accessories²	114.4	118.4	3.5

Groups 1-15: Soft Goods		572.2	560.6	-2.0
Groups 16-20: Durable Goods		381.1	374.7	-1.7
Groups 21-23: Misc. Goods²		94.0	93.5	-0.5

	Store Total³	504.0	495.0	-1.8

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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