House Passes Common Cents Act To End Penny And Standardize Rounding
The House passed the Common Cents Act on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, sending a bill to the Senate that would end the penny and standardize cash rounding.[1]
The bill directs the Treasury to stop minting pennies and sets a national rule that cash purchases be rounded to the nearest five cents.[1] Pennies would retain full legal value, and the bill gives examples showing $10.02 would round down to $10.00 while $10.04 would round up to $10.05.[1] Business advocates said the national standard will reduce legal liability and estimated rounding down could cost restaurants as much as $168 million a year.[1]
The U.S. Mint now spends nearly four cents to produce each one-cent coin, and the last penny was minted in November 2025.[1] The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration.[1]
Supporters say the change would reduce time at checkout and lower legal risk for small businesses, while the Senate process will determine whether the policy becomes law.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, the House passed the Common Cents Act and sent it to the Senate.
- The bill directs the Treasury to stop minting pennies and sets a national standard to round cash transactions to the nearest five cents.
- Pennies retain full legal value, and examples in the bill show $10.02 would round down to $10.00 and $10.04 would round up to $10.05.
- Business advocates say the standard will reduce legal liability and estimate rounding down could otherwise cost restaurants up to $168 million annually.
- The U.S. Mint now spends nearly four cents to produce each one-cent coin, and the last penny was minted in November 2025.
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