The House of Representatives passed the Common Cents Act on July 14, 2026, establishing nationwide rules for handling cash purchases as the United States phases out the one-cent coin. The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.

The Common Act directs the Treasury to stop minting pennies, legally ending production of the one-cent coin other than for sale as numismatic or collection items. This directive follows the U.S. Mint producing its final penny for circulation in November 2025. The U.S. Mint has reported that it costs nearly four cents to manufacture a single penny.

Under the new law, only cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest nickel, while prices, taxes, and electronic payments would still be calculated to the exact cent. Rounding would happen only after the final total is calculated. Totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents would round down to the nearest nickel, while totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents would round up.

Totals ending in 0 or 5 cents would stay the same. For small-amount transactions worth $0.01 or $0.02, the amount may be rounded up to $0.05 for those seeking to pay with cash.

Common Act allows pennies already in circulation to continue being used as legal tender. The Federal Reserve will continue to recirculate roughly 114 billion pennies, according to the Treasury Department.

"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," said Sean Kennedy, Chief Advocacy Officer of the National Restaurant Association. "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 elimination of the penny is going to come with costs to restaurants, and there's nothing we can do about that. But we're looking for certainty as the penny is phased out," Kennedy said. "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."

The National Restaurant Association estimates that inconsistent rounding practices could cost restaurants up to $168 million a year. About one in four restaurant customers pays with cash, according to the association. "The House recognized the need for certainty to protect cash transactions, support consistency across the country, and resolve an issue that has been negatively impacting millions of businesses nationwide," said Evan Armstrong, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs of the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

Common Act is sponsored by Reps. Robert Garcia (D, Calif.) and Lisa McClain (R, Mich.). Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond projected in a July 2025 brief that rounding to the nearest nickel could cost U.S. consumers about $6 million annually. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis notes that symmetrical rounding means cash purchases are expected to round down about as often as they round up.

Canada eliminated the penny in 2012 and adopted a rounding system where cash purchases are rounded to the nearest five cents while electronic payments are charged to the exact cent. Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden have also eliminated their lowest-denomination coins and adopted cash-rounding systems.

The passage of the Common Act marks a formal federal step toward eliminating a currency unit that costs more to produce than it is worth. By establishing uniform rounding rules for cash transactions, the legislation aims to reduce legal liabilities for merchants who struggle to provide exact change while preserving the precise valuation of goods and services for electronic and taxed transactions.

The impact extends to millions of cash transactions daily, particularly in sectors like restaurants where cash usage remains notable and inconsistent rounding has created financial uncertainty. With 114 billion pennies still in circulation, the transition will be gradual, allowing existing coins to remain legal tender while halting new production for general use. The Senate's upcoming consideration will determine whether the nationwide standard becomes law.