Revenue Ruling 2006-33, June 26, 2006

LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The April 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, April 30, 2006.

The following Department Store Inventory Price Indexes for April 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, April 30, 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		Apr 2005	Apr 2006	Percent Change from Apr 2005 to Apr 2006¹
1.	Piece Goods	469.8	466.8	-0.6
2.	Domestics and Draperies	539.1	494.2	-8.3
3.	Women’s and Children’s Shoes	679.7	718.7	5.7
4.	Men’s Shoes	876.6	881.7	0.6
5.	Infants’ Wear	582.7	570.7	-2.1
6.	Women’s Underwear	545.2	562.2	3.1
7.	Women’s Hosiery	342.9	354.8	3.5
8.	Women’s and Girls’ Accessories	599.6	578.2	-3.6
9.	Women’s Outerwear and Girls’ Wear	376.2	372.6	-1.0
10.	Men’s Clothing	565.6	548.8	-3.0
11.	Men’s Furnishings	586.6	582.1	-0.8
12.	Boys’ Clothing and Furnishings	440.4	414.3	-5.9
13.	Jewelry	879.9	866.7	-1.5
14.	Notions	779.0	788.2	1.2
15.	Toilet Articles and Drugs	994.4	1003.5	0.9
16.	Furniture and Bedding	604.2	607.8	0.6
17.	Floor Coverings	601.0	615.0	2.3
18.	Housewares	714.1	695.9	-2.5
19.	Major Appliances	202.8	204.4	0.8
20.	Radio and Television	39.5	36.9	-6.6
21.	Recreation and Education²	78.3	76.9	-1.8
22.	Home Improvements²	136.4	140.0	2.6
23.	Automotive Accessories²	114.4	118.8	3.8

Groups 1-15: Soft Goods		572.4	567.3	-0.9
Groups 16-20: Durable Goods		380.8	374.8	-1.6
Groups 21-23: Misc. Goods²		93.0	93.4	0.4

	Store Total³	503.5	499.1	-0.9

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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