Federal legislation on cash, rounding, and the penny

No federal law governs cash rounding today. The penny’s retirement was an executive branch action, the rounding rules in force are state laws and non-binding Treasury guidance, and the federal measure with momentum has now passed both chambers in companion form but has not been presented to the President. This page tracks every pending federal measure from the primary record, congress.gov, the Congressional Record, and official committee documents, and is updated as Congress acts.

The Common Cents Act, H.R.3074

The Common Cents Act is the centerpiece of federal penny legislation. Introduced by Representative Lisa McClain of Michigan with Representative Robert Garcia of California, it cleared the House Financial Services Committee 35 to 13 in July 2025 and passed the full House under suspension of the rules on H.R.3074 on July 14, 2026. The next day it was received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The Senate then moved its own companion measure, S. 1525, passing it by unanimous consent on August 7, 2026.

What the House-passed text does:

• Permits rounding, requires nothing. The title was amended from require to permit. Cash totals may be rounded symmetrically to the nearest five cents, and the bill states plainly that nothing in it may be construed to require any person to round.
• Codifies the end of the penny. Production of one-cent coins for general circulation ceases by statute, while collector coins may continue and every existing penny keeps its legal tender status.
• Creates a liability safe harbor, not preemption. A business that follows the bill’s rounding method is shielded from federal and state violation claims based on that rounding. No state law is overridden, and the shield extends only to those who can show the method was followed.
• Excludes noncash payments. Checks, electronic fund transfers, gift cards, money orders, and credit cards are outside the rounding rules entirely and continue to settle to the exact cent.
• Preserves wage law. Compliance with minimum wage, overtime, and paid leave laws is expressly unaffected.
• Orders a Federal Reserve study. Within 90 days of enactment, the Federal Reserve must publish a strategic plan on penny orders and deposits at coin terminals, including a Treasury assessment of the impact on low-income communities, older consumers, and unbanked, underbanked, and debanked individuals, with follow-up evaluations at 6, 18, and 30 months.
• Authorizes a cheaper nickel. The Treasury may adopt a five-cent coin with a zinc inner layer and nickel outer layer, conditioned on testing showing lower production cost and minimal impact on coin-operated machines.

The Senate companion, S.1525, passed August 7, 2026

Introduced by Senators Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York on April 30, 2025. S.1525 passed the Senate by unanimous consent on August 7, 2026 and was received in the House on August 10, 2026. The House must act on the Senate text, or the two chambers must reconcile their versions, before anything reaches the President. Where the House-passed language is permissive, differences in the Senate text on mandatory rounding are the central drafting question in that reconciliation.

The Payment Choice Act, a separate track

The Payment Choice Act addresses cash acceptance, not rounding. The House version (H.R.1138, Representative John Rose of Tennessee) and Senate version (S.2326, Senators Kevin Cramer and John Fetterman) would require retail businesses with physical locations to accept cash up to 500 dollars per transaction and prohibit charging cash payers more than card payers, with civil penalties and a private right of action. Both versions sit at committee referral with no scheduled action, and versions of this bill have been introduced in several prior Congresses without passing. It matters to watch because cash-acceptance mandates and rounding rules interact: a business required to accept cash must also decide, correctly, how to round it.

Other pending measures

• Make Sense Not Cents Act (S.1554, Senators Lee and Merkley): would prohibit minting the penny by statute. Referred to Senate Banking May 1, 2025. No action.
• MINT Act (H.R.4459, Representative Lucas): mirrors the Common Cents Act coin provisions without the rounding rules. Referred to House Financial Services. No action.
• COINS Act (H.R.1401, Representative Biggs): would suspend penny production for ten years. No action.
• H.R.1270 (Representative Schweikert): would suspend both penny and nickel production for ten years. No action. No nickel-suspension measure is advancing.
• Coin Metal Modification Act (H.R.1278): would authorize composition changes across circulating coins. No action.

How the penny actually ended

The retirement of the penny did not come from any of these bills. In February 2025 the President directed the Treasury to stop producing pennies, and the Secretary exercised existing authority under federal coinage law (31 U.S.C. 5111 and 5112) to wind down production. The final circulating penny was struck at the Philadelphia Mint on November 12, 2025. Every existing penny remains legal tender indefinitely under 31 U.S.C. 5103. The bills above would variously codify, formalize, or extend what the executive branch already did, and until one passes, the operative rounding rules are state law and the Treasury’s non-binding guidance.

What to watch

Three developments would change this page. House action on S. 1525 as received, or a move to reconcile the House and Senate texts. Presentment to the President and signature or veto. And movement on the Payment Choice Act, which would bind cash acceptance and rounding together for every retailer with a register. When any of these happens, this page and our notification list will reflect it.

For the state laws that govern rounding today, see the legislation tracker. For what the penny transition means for consumers, see the penny phase-out guide.