Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTAdam WingfieldSat, June 27, 2026 at 8:58 PM GMT+2 8 min readA reefer unit burns its own diesel. Anyone who runs refrigerated freight knows this, because they are paying for two fuel burns on every load: the diesel that moves the truck down the road, and the separate diesel that runs the refrigeration unit on the trailer keeping the freight cold. Both come out of the same pocket. Only one of them is actually pushing the truck down the highway.Prime Inc., the Springfield, Missouri carrier that runs roughly 9,000 trucks and is one of the largest refrigerated carriers in the country, has decided that the distinction is worth more than $11 million, and it is now making that case in federal court against the Internal Revenue Service.Source: United States District Court, Western District of Missouri. The opening page of Prime's federal complaint seeking an $11 million refund of fuel excise tax. The case, New Prime, Inc. v. United States, was filed June 16, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.What Prime FiledIn a complaint filed June 16, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Prime petitioned the IRS for a refund of $11,016,644 in federal fuel excise tax that it paid between 2018 and 2021. The basis for the claim is specific and, on its face, straightforward. Prime argues that the diesel used exclusively to power the refrigeration units on its trailers, fuel that never propelled a vehicle, constitutes an off-highway, nontaxable business use, and that taxing it as standard highway fuel was improper.The logic rests on what the federal fuel excise tax is actually for. That tax, currently 24.3 cents per gallon on undyed diesel, exists to fund "highway infrastructure". It is, in effect, a user fee for the roads. Fuel that runs a refrigeration unit on a trailer does not use the highway in that sense. It is burned to spin a compressor and keep a box cold, whether the truck is rolling down the interstate or parked at a dock overnight. Prime's position is that fuel doing that work was never highway fuel and should never have carried the highway tax. This is where technically, the point is very valid.This is not Prime's first attempt to recover the money. According to the complaint, Prime previously filed for refunds covering the periods ending March 31, 2018 through December 31, 2020, and the IRS denied all of those claims. Prime then filed an additional claim on September 12, 2025 covering 2021, and as of the complaint, it had received neither a refund nor a denial notice for that year. Having exhausted the administrative route without success, Prime has moved the fight to federal court. In addition to the $11 million, it is seeking litigation costs, attorney fees, and prejudgment and post-judgment interest.The Part That Actually Matters for Small CarriersHere is what makes this more than a story about a big carrier and a big number. The tax credit Prime is fighting over is not some exotic provision available only to fleets with 9,000 trucks and a legal department. It is a standard, established federal fuel tax credit, and it is available to any business burning taxed fuel for a nontaxable off-highway use, including the owner-operator pulling a single reefer.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info