Trucking company asks IRS to refund $11 million in taxes on diesel that powered reefer units

A large carrier asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to pay back millions in taxes applied to the diesel fuel used to power the company’s refrigerated trailers.

In a complaint filed on June 16, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Springfield, Missouri-headquarted Prime Inc. petitioned the IRS for a refund of federal fuel excise tax collected between 2018 and 2021 in the amount of $11,016,644.

Prime says that it seeks “recovery of taxes wrongfully collected under the internal revenue laws” with respect to diesel used to power refrigerated units on the company’s trailers.

The IRS provides a Fuel Tax Credit for fuel used in certain specific non-driving work-related activities.

The Fuel Tax Credit is available for “nontaxable uses of gasoline, aviation gasoline, undyed diesel and undyed kerosene.”

The agency says that nontaxable uses include when fuel isn’t used for regular driving purposes, including “off-highway business use.”

Prime argued that the diesel fuel used to power the refrigerated units on its trailers “is an off-highway, nontaxable business use” and should therefore not be subject to the excise tax.

Prime said that it previously filed for refund of the fuel excise paid for the diesel fuel used to power the refrigeration units on Prime’s trailers for the periods ending March 31, 2018 through December 31, 2020, and that these claims were denied by the IRS.

The company also said that it filed a claim for refund of the fuel excise paid for the diesel fuel used to power the refrigeration units on Prime’s trailers for 2021 on September 12, 2025. According to the complaint, Prime has not received any refund for 2021, nor has it received a notice from the IRS indicating that its refund claim for 2021 has been disallowed.

In addition to the $11 million refund, Prime is also seeking litigation costs, attorney fees, prejudgment and post judgment interest, and “other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.”