North Carolina cash rounding law

H.R. 10167 has passed congress. It is not yet law, and it does not by itself change North Carolina's enacted requirements below. Section 4 of the bill is a safe harbor for adherence to the federal rounding conduct it describes, not a blanket preemption of state law. See the Federal Cash-Rounding Standard for the pending federal framework and its current status.

S.B. 595, Various Revenue Laws Changes, became Session Law 2026-31 on July 2, 2026. Part XIV embeds cash-rounding provisions in an omnibus revenue act and is effective on becoming law except as otherwise provided. G.S. 105-357(a1) requires a taxing unit, when pennies are no longer produced and unavailable for an in-person cash tax payment, to round the amount owed downward to the nearest five cents; amounts below five cents become zero and the collector treats qualifying payments as fully paid. This is not a rule for every government payment or a separately enacted local ordinance. G.S. 18B-804A separately permits ABC-store rounding initially; Section 14(c) changes that obligation to mandatory July 1, 2027, subject to the production condition, without extending it to ordinary private retailers. This is a Centsless legal-research summary, not legal advice or a guarantee of compliance. Research inclusion does not establish executable Decision & Evidence Engine support for any North Carolina branch.

Status: Reviewed. Verified against enacted text: October 18, 2026.

No specific guidance identified beyond what is cited on this page as of September 29, 2026. Monitoring for updates.

To report a correction or send a primary source, write to research@centsless.org.

G.S. 66-515 permits covered private retailers and government entities acting as retailers to round qualifying cash transactions when the one-cent piece is no longer in production. Participation is optional, but participants must use the nearest-five-cent digit table: 1, 2, 6 and 7 down; 3, 4, 8 and 9 up; 0 and 5 unchanged. The final total includes taxes and fees; rounding may apply to that total or change tendered. Customers with exact legal tender may pay without adjustment at their option. ABC stores are excluded from this general-retailer provision and have their own framework.

Retail and ABC-store authority is conditioned on the one-cent piece no longer being in production. Qualifying tax collections additionally require pennies to be unavailable for an in-person cash payment. These triggers and transaction scopes must be assessed separately.

The distinction between an operational trigger and a penny-production trigger is examined in The Nickel to Dime Problem.

Tax calculation precedes the final transaction amount and cash-rounding adjustment. G.S. 66-515(d) preserves the sales price, taxes, surcharges, assessments and fees; retailers must remit the exact sales tax shown on the invoice or receipt. G.S. 105-164.10 keeps the sales price unchanged and the existing tax-computation rule intact. The law does not authorize rounding sales tax to the nearest nickel.

G.S. 66-515 permits nearest-five-cent rounding when penny production has ceased. Covered retailers may round the final tax-inclusive amount or change tendered. Noncash is excluded, only the cash portion of mixed tender rounds, and customers with exact legal tender may decline adjustment.

G.S. 105-357(a1) requires downward rounding for in-person cash tax payments when penny production has ceased and pennies are unavailable. Amounts below five cents become zero and qualifying payments are treated as fully paid. This does not apply to every government payment.

G.S. 18B-804A initially permits nearest-five-cent rounding when penny production has ceased. Noncash is excluded and only the cash portion of mixed tender rounds. This separate framework does not govern ordinary private retailers.

Section 14(c) changes ABC-store rounding from permissive to mandatory beginning July 1, 2027, subject to the penny-production condition. This is a future obligation under an already enacted law, not pending legislation.

Noncash transactions are excluded. G.S. 66-515(b)(3) and 18B-804A(b)(2) apply rounding only to the cash-paid portion of mixed tender. Noncash amounts are not adjusted.

G.S. 66-515(f) and 18B-804A(e) bar civil causes of action based on rounding adjustments performed in accordance with those sections. G.S. 105-164.11(d)(2) treats qualifying rounding as a reasonable business practice for its sales-tax purpose. G.S. 75-45 and 81A-32 provide chapter-specific protections for compliant rounding when penny production has ceased. These provisions do not immunize every rounding practice from every possible liability.