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The Common Cents Act, a response to the phase-out of the penny that lets businesses round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, was passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday and now moves to the Senate for consideration.
It would create rounding guidelines for businesses and consumers to lean on for cash transactions when they do not have exact change on hand. Currently, establishments are vulnerable to litigation if they fail to provide customers with exact change, even when they round up in a patron’s favor.
Business advocacy groups praised its passage on Tuesday. The National Restaurant Association called it “a win for restaurant operators who have been contending with the phase out of the penny.”
“When a customer pays in cash and a register doesn’t have a penny available to give exact change, it can create a legal liability for businesses,” National Restaurant Association chief advocacy officer Sean Kennedy told CBS News.
What does the act say?
The Common Cents Act provides clear guidance on which businesses, banks and consumers can rely when transacting in cash. It directs the Treasury to stop minting pennies and calls for cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents. Pennies will still retain their value under the act.
If a purchase costs $10.02 after tax and a customer is short two cents, the bill would round down to $10 under the act. A charge of $10.04 would round up to $10.05.
A national standard
The phase-out of the penny has been cumbersome for some businesses, according to Kennedy. While it’s still in circulation, some regions face shortages while others have surpluses of the lowest-denomination coin.
“We are asking for a national rounding standard. What most businesses do is round to the nearest nickel, either up and down, which sounds like common sense,” he said. “But there isn’t a federal law that allows for that. What we are looking for is certainty, and to minimize frustration for customers and businesses working in cash.”
The group estimates that rounding down because of a lack of pennies could cost restaurants up to $168 million annually. But it supports the legislation because it shields establishments from potential litigation.
“Those pennies do add up. The elimination of the penny is going to come with costs to restaurants, and there’s nothing we can do about that,” Kennedy said. “But we’re looking for certainty as the penny is phased out.”
The last penny was minted in November 2025. The penny costs more to make — nearly four cents — than it’s worth, according to the U.S. Mint. Roughly one in four restaurant customers transact in cash, according to the National Restaurant Association.
“This is about businesses looking ahead as we move into a world in which pennies will be less frequent, but bills will still include pennies because of local taxation,” Kennedy said.
