Americans who pay with cash could soon notice a change at the checkout counter as Congress moves closer to establishing a nationwide system for handling transactions without pennies.

The U.S. Senate has passed the Common Cents Act, legislation that would establish uniform rules for rounding cash purchases to the nearest five cents. The measure comes after production of pennies for general circulation ended in 2025 and businesses began facing shortages of the one-cent coin. The House previously passed its version of the legislation, but the Senate’s changes mean the measure must return to the House before it can be sent to the president.

Under the proposal, only the final total of a cash purchase would be rounded — individual prices and taxes would still be calculated normally.

The rounding system would work like this:

• Totals ending in 1 or 2 cents would round down to 0.
• Totals ending in 3 or 4 cents would round up to 5.
• Totals ending in 6 or 7 cents would round down to 5.
• Totals ending in 8 or 9 cents would round up to the next 10 cents.
• Totals already ending in 0 or 5 cents would remain unchanged.

For example, a cash purchase totaling $10.42 would become $10.40, while a purchase totaling $10.43 would become $10.45.

The change would apply to cash transactions, not purchases made with debit cards, credit cards or other electronic payment methods. A $10.43 purchase paid electronically would still cost exactly $10.43.

The legislation would not make the pennies already sitting in change jars, cash registers or pockets worthless. Existing pennies would remain legal tender and could continue to be used. The proposal instead creates a standard way for businesses to handle cash transactions as pennies become less readily available.

What About the Nickel?

The legislation could eventually bring changes to the nickel as well. Producing a five-cent coin costs more than its face value, so the measure would give the federal government greater flexibility to consider less expensive materials and manufacturing methods for future nickels. That does not mean the nickel is being eliminated; instead, future versions of the coin could potentially be made differently in an effort to reduce production costs.

The goal of the Common Cents Act is to provide one consistent national system instead of leaving businesses and consumers to navigate different approaches as the supply of pennies declines.

For now, shoppers should not expect every cash purchase to immediately begin rounding. The proposal is not yet final law. The House must agree to the Senate-approved legislation before it can advance to the president.

If approved, however, Americans who still prefer cash may soon find themselves paying — or receiving change — in increments of a nickel rather than a penny.

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