REVENUE RULE 93-34

1993-1 C.B. 87, 1993-18 I.R.B. 7.

Internal Revenue Service
Revenue Ruling

LIFO; PRICE INDEXES; DEPARTMENT STORES

Published: May 3, 1993

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

LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The December 1992 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, December 31, 1992.

The following price indexes for December 1992 were issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on January 15, 1993, for use by department stores. 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, December 31, 1992.

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)

Groups December 1991/December 1992/Percent Change from Dec. 1991 to Dec. 1992 [Fn1]
1. Piece Goods 479.9 485.7 1.2
2. Domestics and Draperies 616.1 605.9 -1.7
3. Women's and Children's Shoes 621.7 641.0 3.1
4. Men's Shoes 892.7 907.7 1.7
5. Infants' Wear 613.6 621.4 1.3
6. Women's Underwear 507.1 500.7 -1.3
7. Women's Hosiery 262.5 269.9 2.8
8. Women's and Girls' Accessories 559.9 585.4 4.6
9. Women's Outerwear and Girls' Wear 422.7 423.0 0.1
10. Men's Clothing 583.2 593.5 1.8
11. Men's Furnishings  
12. Boys' Clothing and Furnishings  
13. Jewelry  
14. Notions  
15. Toilet Articles and Drugs  
16. Furniture and Bedding  
17. Floor Coverings  
18. Housewares  
19. Major Appliances  
20. Radio and Television  
21. Recreation and Education [fn2]  
22. Home Improvements [fn2]  
23. Auto Accessories [fn2]  
Groups 1 - 15: Soft Goods  
Groups 16 - 20: Durable Goods  
Groups 21 - 23: Misc. Goods [fn2]  
Store Total [fn3]  

Rev. Rul. 93-34, 1993-1 C.B. 87, 1993-18 I.R.B. 7.