Congress advances bill to allow cash rounding after penny phase-out

The Senate gave unanimous consent to the Common Cents Act on Aug. 7, following a similar measure passed by the House a month earlier. The legislation would make the cessation of penny minting, scheduled for November 2025, permanent and would give businesses a clear framework for rounding cash payments to the nearest nickel when exact change is unavailable. Under the bill, totals ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents would be rounded down, and those ending in 3, 4, 8 or 9 cents would be rounded up.

The U.S. Mint reports that each penny costs 3.69 cents to produce, resulting in an annual loss of about $83 million. Approximately 300 billion pennies in circulation would remain legal tender, but electronic payments would continue to be processed to the exact cent.

Trade groups representing grocers and restaurants welcomed the bill. Stephanie Johnson, senior vice president of the National Grocers Association, said the act “provides retailers with clear legal authority and protections to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel.” Sean Kennedy, chief advocacy officer of the National Restaurant Association, called the measure “a meaningful win for every restaurant operator and small business owner.”

The legislation also addresses the nickel, a five-cent coin that costs about 13.8 cents to mint, creating a loss of roughly eight cents per coin. While the Common Cents Act does not eliminate the nickel, it authorizes the Treasury to test new designs that could reduce production costs without adversely affecting coin-accepting machines. A separate bill, H.R. 1270, which would suspend nickel production, is still pending in a House committee.