REVENUE RULE 93-37

1993-1 C.B. 88, 1993-20 I.R.B. 4.

Internal Revenue Service
Revenue Ruling

LIFO; PRICE INDEXES; DEPARTMENT STORES

Published: May 17, 1993

§ 472. Last-in, First-out Inventories, 26 CFR 1.472-1: Last-in, first- out inventories.

LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The January 1993 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, January 31, 1993.

The following price indexes for January 1993 were issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on February 18, 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, January 31, 1993.

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 January 1992/January 1993/Percent Change from Jan. 92 to Jan. 93 [Fn1]
1. Piece Goods 469.4 465.4 -0.9
2. Domestics and Draperies 620.2 610.3 -1.6
3. Women's and Children's Shoes 613.0 635.8 3.7
4. Men's Shoes 899.6 901.7 0.2
5. Infants' Wear 603.9 611.0 1.2
6. Women's Underwear 500.9 502.6 0.3
7. Women's Hosiery 267.1 270.1 1.1
8. Women's and Girls' Accessories 560.8 580.9 3.6
9. Women's Outerwear and Girls' Wear 412.2 408.4 -0.9
10. Men's Clothing 572.8 585.0 2.1
11. Men's Furnishings 557.3 553.8 -0.6
12. Boys' Clothing and Furnishings 473.5 476.8 0.7
13. Jewelry 907.1 949.3 4.7
14. Notions 603.2 602.9 0.0
15. Toilet Articles and Drugs 797.9 822.8 3.1
16. Furniture and Bedding 592.4 611.1 3.2
17. Floor Coverings 528.4 530.4 0.4
18. Housewares 764.8 759.8 -0.7
19. Major Appliances 244.1 248.7 1.9
20. Radio and Television 88.9 87.7 -1.3
21. Recreation and Education [fn2] 114.1 115.0 0.8
22. Home Improvements [fn2] 119.5 119.9 0.3
23. Auto Accessories [fn2] 108.5 108.0 -0.5
Groups 1 - 15: Soft Goods 569.4 573.8 0.8
Groups 16 - 20: Durable Goods 456.1 457.7 0.4
Groups 21 - 23: Misc. Goods [fn2] 113.8 114.4 0.5
Store Total [fn3] 533.7 537.0 0.6

fn1. Absence of a minus sign before percentage change in this column signifies price increase.
fn2. Indexes on a January 1986 = 100 base.
fn3. The store total index covers all departments, with the following exceptions: candy, foods, liquor, tobacco, as well as contract departments.

Rev. Rul. 93-37, 1993-1 C.B. 88, 1993-20 I.R.B. 4.