House passes Common Cents Act to phase out penny, detailing cash rounding rules

On July 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Common Cents Act, legislation establishing 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 each coin. Under the proposed law, cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest five cents: totals ending in 1,2,6,7 cents round down; 3,4,8,9 cents round up; 0,5 remain unchanged. Electronic payments, checks, and mobile wallets would still be processed to the exact cent. Existing pennies would remain legal tender. The bill now heads to the Senate. The National Restaurant Association estimates inconsistent rounding could cost restaurants $168 million annually, and about 25% of restaurant customers still use cash. Canada eliminated its penny in 2012 using a similar system, saving taxpayers about 11 million Canadian dollars annually.