What is the difference between Preliminary and Final Producer Price Indexes?
The BLS price indexes are the cumulative indexes published in the selected BLS table for the appropriate month. BLS indexes are published monthly and are considered preliminary for four months at which time final, revised indexes are published. A taxpayer may elect to use either preliminary or final BLS price indexes for the appropriate month provided that the selected BLS price indexes are used consistently. However, a taxpayer that elects to use final BLS price indexes must use preliminary BLS price indexes for any taxable year for which the taxpayer files its original federal income tax return before the BLS publishes final BLS price indexes for the appropriate month. Reg. § 1.472-8(e)(3)(iii)(D)(2) The election of final versus preliminary indexes can be made at the pool level. For first year clients, calculations are performed using both price indexes to give the taxpayer the option to choose between the two.
