Penny Rounding Calculator

How to use the cash rounding calculator

1. Enter the total shown on the register, or switch to Item prices and list each item to add them up.
2. Add sales tax if your prices are pre-tax. Tax is calculated to the exact cent first, the way stores are required to do it.
3. Pick a rounding method. Nearest 5 cents (symmetrical) is what most new state laws and federal guidance describe. Choose always round down to see what a customer-favorable store would charge.
4. Enter the cash you hand over to see your change. The result updates as you type.

Penny rounding rules explained

With symmetrical rounding, also called nickel rounding, only the last digit of the final cash total matters. The total is moved to the nearest multiple of 5 cents, so it never changes by more than 2 cents either way. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), as quoted by the U.S. Treasury, calls this "the most recommended form of rounding."

Official guidance agrees on a few key points:

• Only cash is rounded. Card, electronic and check payments are charged the exact amount.
• Round last. Rounding applies to the final total after all taxes and fees, not to each item.
• Tax is unchanged. Sales tax is calculated and reported on the unrounded amount.
• Pennies still work. The penny is still legal tender, and businesses may keep giving exact change when they have pennies.

Examples: rounding to the nearest 5 cents

• $1.02 → $1.00 and $1.07 → $1.05 (endings 2 and 7 round down). Examples from the Arizona Department of Revenue.
• $1.03 → $1.05 and $1.08 → $1.10 (endings 3 and 8 round up).
• Item list: $19.99 + $4.35 + $0.07 + $0.01 = $24.42, which rounds to $24.40. The calculator uses whole cents, so it avoids the floating-point errors some generic calculators make.
• With tax: $77.00 of hardware at 7% tax is $82.39 (North Carolina DOR example). A store that always rounds down charges $82.35 in cash, and change from $100 is $17.65. Symmetrical rounding gives $82.40.

Why pennies are being phased out

On November 12, 2025, the U.S. Mint struck its final circulating one-cent coin in Philadelphia, ending a 232-year production run. According to the Mint, each penny had come to cost 3.69 cents to make. The Treasury expected to save about $56 million a year. The Mint estimates around 300 billion pennies are still in circulation. They remain legal tender, but as fewer reach cash drawers, many businesses can't always give exact change, and that is where penny rounding comes in.

The U.S. Postal Service began nickel rounding for cash transactions on December 12, 2025, when pennies aren't available. It rounds the change due: 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents rounds down, and 3, 4, 8 or 9 rounds up.

State-by-state note on penny elimination

There is no single national rule yet. The federal Common Cents Act (H.R. 3074), which would permit nickel rounding, has passed the U.S. House but was not law when this page was written. States are acting on their own:

• Rounding laws in effect (per Holland & Knight, August 2026): Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Missouri's law was set to take effect August 28, 2026, and Connecticut's takes effect January 1, 2027.
• Arizona requires businesses without pennies at the point of sale to round cash totals to the nearest 5 cents, and to post a notice at the register.
• Washington permits symmetrical rounding for in-person cash payments. For mixed payments only the cash portion is rounded, and the law overrides local rules against it.
• Florida makes rounding optional for merchants and protects them from deceptive-practice claims.
• Connecticut: until its new law takes effect, state guidance has said its cash-discrimination law bars rounding cash totals up, so rounding down is the safe choice there.
• Guidance only: Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin have issued guidance instead of passing laws.
• Cities: some local cash-discrimination rules, such as Miami-Dade's, forbid charging cash customers more. Holland & Knight flags Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit and Washington, D.C. as places to check carefully.

Laws are changing quickly. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check your state revenue department for current rules.

Penny rounding FAQ