Casey's General Stores pays $31.5M to fix error in accounting for blended ethanol tax credits

Convenience store chain Casey's General Stores said Monday it discovered a $30 million error in its income taxes related to tax credits on ethanol that is blended into gasoline.

The company said it paid the IRS $30.4 million in taxes and $1.1 million in interest to correct the error and will revise its financial statements from fiscal 2012, 2013 and 2014 as well as the first quarter of its current fiscal year. Casey's said it found the error during a routine IRS examination and voluntarily reported it to the government.

The Ankeny, Iowa, company said it is changing the way it handles and reviews excise taxes.

Casey's General Stores Inc. had 1,837 stores as of July 31, and almost all of its stores have self-serve gas stations. The stores are found in 14 states, primarily Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, and most of the company's stores are in small communities.

The company's stock lost $1.07 cents to $86.80 in extended trading following the announcement.