Bipartisan legislation entitled “The Common Cents Act” has been introduced in the current 119th U.S. Congress (2025-2026) to direct the Treasury to stop minting pennies and establish rules for rounding cash transactions. The bill is H.R. 3074 in the House and S. 1525 in the Senate. Both are moving through the process. But Utah and New York are not waiting for the federal government to act. They have introduced their own price-rounding guidance and legislation to address the penny shortage.
These are the key provisions of the Common Cents Act:
- Cease Penny Production: Direct the U.S. Mint to stop producing pennies for general circulation one year after the bill’s enactment (with exceptions for numismatic/collector purposes).
- Implement Rounding: Require a symmetrical rounding system for cash transactions only.
- Amounts ending in .01, .02, .06, and.07 would be rounded down to the nearest 5 cents.
- Amounts ending in .03, .04, .08, and .09 cents would be rounded up to the nearest 5 cents.
- Maintain Legal Tender Status: All existing pennies would remain legal tender indefinitely.
- Exempt Non-Cash Transactions: Payments made by credit card, debit card, check, or electronic transfer would not be subject to rounding.
The rationale for the legislation is fiscal responsibility, as it has cost more than one cent to produce a penny for many years (approximately 3.7 cents per penny in 2024), resulting in significant taxpayer losses. The U.S. Treasury has already halted penny production at the direction of President Trump, creating an urgent need for a standardized national rounding policy.
