Currency: Ending the Penny and Rounding Cash Totals
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to require cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents, and for other purposes.
The House Committee on Financial Services is currently reviewing this bill. It has not moved since August 27, 2026. The committee must decide whether to hold a vote or take further action for the bill to progress.
While this would save the government money, similar bills have failed for decades due to public sentiment and opposition from the zinc industry.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Workers who receive cash tips or cash payments from customers could see small amounts rounded up or down depending on the final digit of the transaction. The bill requires that any employer-initiated rounding of cash wages go in the worker's favor, but rounding by customers paying cash is not required to favor the worker.
“the employer shall round the amount of cents in such payment up to the nearest amount divisible by 5 cents”
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
The Common Cents Act has cleared both chambers of Congress, formalizing the penny's retirement and allowing retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest five cents. While providing a federal safe harbor, the bill must navigate a complex patchwork of existing state rounding regulations.
Following Senate approval, the Common Cents Act establishes a national standard for cash rounding. The bill directs the Treasury to cease penny production and sets rules: rounding down for totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents, and up for 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents, a move praised by restaurant groups.
The House voted to end production of the penny, citing high manufacturing costs. The Common Cents Act would authorize the Treasury to halt minting while keeping existing pennies as legal tender. Cash purchases would be rounded to the nearest 5 cents when exact change is unavailable.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to require cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents, and for other purposes.
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