Rev. Rul. 87-91

1987-2 C.B. 143, 1987-37 I.R.B. 15.

Published: September 14, 1987

26 CFR 1.472-1:  Last-in, first-out inventories.

  The following price indexes for June 1987 were issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on July 24, 1987, for use by department stores, and are accepted by the Internal Revenue Service under section 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 methods for tax years ended on or with reference to, June 30, 1987.

  Indexes are prepared on a national basis for the store total, for 23 major groups of departments, and for three special combinations - soft goods, durable goods and miscellaneous goods. The store total index covers all departments, including some not listed separately, with the following exceptions: candy, foods, liquor, tobacco, as well as contract departments.

                 BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DEPARTMENT STORE
                 INVENTORY PRICE INDEXES BY DEPARTMENT GROUPS
                  (January 1941 = 100 unless otherwise noted)
                                                                        Percent
                                                                    Change from
                                                   June   June     June 1986 to
                           Groups                  1986   1987  June 1987 [FN1]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         1.  Piece Goods ........................ 406.2  395.3              2.7
         2.  Domestics and Draperies ............ 543.8  570.7              4.9
         3.  Women's and Children's Shoes ....... 528.4  549.7              4.0
         4.  Men's Shoes ........................ 729.0  748.4              2.7
         5.  Infants' Wear ...................... 534.4  527.2             -1.3
         6.  Women's Underwear .................. 422.3  435.4              3.1
         7.  Women's and Girls' Hosiery ......... 236.2  237.9              0.7
         8.  Women's and Girls' Accessories ..... 447.9  468.8              4.7
         9.  Women's Outerwear and Girls' Wear .. 329.1  360.3              9.5
        10.  Men's Clothing ..................... 470.3  500.3              6.4
        11.  Men's Furnishings .................. 477.0  492.9              3.1
        12.  Boys' Clothing and Furnishings ..... 436.9  431.2              1.3
        13.  Jewelry ............................ 668.1  713.6              6.8
        14.  Notions ............................ 448.2  484.7              8.1
        15.  Toilet Articles and Drugs .......... 661.2  678.3              2.6
        16.  Furniture and Bedding .............. 541.8  563.3              4.0
        17.  Floor Coverings .................... 467.4  477.6              2.2
        18.  Housewares ......................... 716.4  728.5              1.7
        19.  Major Appliances ................... 253.3  250.9             -0.9
        20.  Radio and Television ................ 99.9   97.5             -2.4
        21.  Recreation and Education [FN2] ..... 100.3  101.8              1.5
        22.  Home Improvements [FN2] ............. 98.5  102.9              4.5
        23.  Auto Accessories [FN2] .............. 99.1  100.0              0.9
Groups 1-15: Soft Goods ......................... 473.5  496.3              4.8
Groups 16-20: Durable Goods ..................... 448.1  451.3              0.7
Groups 21-23: Misc. Goods [FN2] .................. 99.8  101.6              1.8
             Store Total ........................ 466.8  481.7              3.2
FN1. Absence of a minus sign before percentage change in this column signifies
  price increase.
FN2. Indexes on a January 1986 = 100 base.

Rev. Rul. 87-91, 1987-2 C.B. 143, 1987-37 I.R.B. 15