House passes Common Cents Act to help with phasing out the penny. How cash purchases would work if the bill becomes law

On July 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Common Cents Act, legislation that would establish nationwide rules for rounding cash transactions as the penny is phased out. The U.S. Mint produced its final penny in late 2025, as it costs nearly four cents to manufacture a single one-cent coin. Under the proposed law, only cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest five cents: totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents round down; those ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents round up; totals ending in 0 or 5 remain unchanged. Electronic payments, including debit and credit cards, would still be processed to the exact cent. Existing pennies would remain legal tender. The bill now heads to the Senate. Canada adopted a similar system when it eliminated the penny in 2012, saving taxpayers about 11 million Canadian dollars annually. The National Restaurant Association estimates inconsistent rounding practices could cost restaurants up to $168 million per year, and about one in four restaurant customers still pays with cash.