Congress Passes the Common Cents Act, Establishing National Cash Rounding Rules as the Penny Retires

Next time you hand a cashier a twenty-dollar bill for a $19.82 purchase, expect to get 20 cents back instead of 18. The days of digging for exact change are officially coming to a close for American shoppers, fundamentally changing how physical currency changes hands at the checkout counter. The shift marks the most visible change to the nation's retail experience in years, directly impacting anyone who still relies on paper money and coins for their daily purchases, from small-town convenience stores to major big-box retailers.[1][3]

The U.S. Senate passed the Common Cents Act on August 7, following the House of Representatives' overwhelming approval on July 14. The bipartisan legislation establishes a uniform federal framework that allows retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel. Because the Senate added a minor transparency amendment requiring the Treasury to notify Congress of any future currency discontinuations, the House must vote one final time to reconcile the text before sending the bill to the president's desk for signature. Industry experts expect the final procedural hurdle to clear without resistance.[1][4][8]

The math for shoppers is straightforward and designed to be statistically neutral over time. Cash totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents will be rounded down to the nearest nickel, saving the customer a few cents on the transaction. Conversely, totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents will be rounded up, costing the customer slightly more. For micro-transactions totaling exactly one or two cents, the amount automatically rounds up to five cents for anyone seeking to pay with physical cash.[1][5]

Crucially, this rounding applies only to the final after-tax total, and exclusively to physical cash payments. Shoppers using credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, SNAP benefits, or digital wallets like Apple Pay will continue to be charged to the exact cent without any adjustments. The strict distinction between payment methods ensures that the vast majority of modern retail spending—which is increasingly digital and automated—remains entirely unaffected by the coin shortage and the new federal rounding framework. Retailers are required to clearly separate these payment streams in their point-of-sale software.[1][2][5]

The legislation arrives as a necessary, pragmatic fix to a growing retail headache that began last year. In early 2025, the U.S. Treasury officially halted the production of new pennies, citing manufacturing costs that had swelled to nearly 3.7 cents per coin due to the rising price of zinc and copper. The federal government was effectively losing tens of millions of dollars annually just to keep the lowest-denomination coin in circulation, prompting the executive branch to pull the plug on the minting presses.[5][6][7]

While existing pennies remain legal tender and can still be spent by consumers, the production halt quickly triggered regional shortages across the country. Merchant cash drawers began running empty, forcing cashiers into uncomfortable positions. Without a steady supply of one-cent coins from the Federal Reserve, retailers were forced to either demand exact change from customers, halt cash sales entirely, or round totals informally just to keep checkout lines moving during busy shopping hours.[3][6][8]

Until now, businesses that rounded cash totals risked violating a confusing patchwork of state consumer protection laws. The Common Cents Act provides a much-needed federal safe harbor, shielding retailers from state-level deceptive practice lawsuits as long as they follow the symmetrical rounding guidelines outlined in the bill. While the federal law makes rounding optional rather than a strict mandate, retail industry groups expect the framework to quickly become the universal standard across the country.[1][4][5]

As the bill awaits its final procedural vote, major retail associations are already preparing their point-of-sale systems for the nationwide shift. Beyond the immediate retail impact, the legislation also authorizes the Treasury Department to test new, cheaper metal compositions for the nickel. Currently made of 75 percent copper, the five-cent coin is also becoming increasingly expensive to manufacture, and lawmakers hope the new testing authority will ensure it doesn't eventually suffer the same fate as the penny.[4][5][7]