Utah cash rounding law

H.R. 10167 has passed congress. It is not yet law, and it does not by itself change Utah'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.

Utah HB 597, Alcohol Amendments, was approved March 13, 2026 and the rounding section is codified at Utah Code 32B-2-213, effective on approval. The statute authorizes rounding up or down to the nearest five cents without prescribing a digit-by-digit algorithm; where the method requires interpretation, that limitation is stated rather than resolved. The earlier Utah Division of Consumer Protection guidance (November 10, 2025) is retained as supplemental research and is not an enacted statute. A separate Utah government cash-handling administrative policy identified in research is likewise not a second enacted statute. This is a Centsless legal-research summary, not legal advice. Research inclusion does not establish executable Decision & Evidence Engine support for this sector-specific authority.

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.

Utah's enacted authority is sector-specific, not a general retail framework. Under Utah Code 32B-2-213 (HB 597, Alcohol Amendments, Chapter 39, 2026 General Session), the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services, package agencies, retail licensees and permittees may round the total price of liquor up or down to the nearest five cents when necessary to make exact change for a cash purchase. The authority is permissive and took effect on the governor's approval, March 13, 2026. Ordinary retail transactions outside liquor sales are not covered by this statute.

Rounding is authorized only if necessary to make exact change for a cash purchase of liquor. The statute does not state a penny-production trigger.

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

Rounding applies after applicable taxes are applied. The statute rounds the total price of the liquor following tax calculation, so the tax base is the pre-rounded amount.

Not addressed by the enacted text. The statute is framed around cash purchases of liquor and contains no provision for transactions split between cash and electronic tender.

The enacted text contains no express civil-liability safe harbor or immunity clause for rounding. Separately, the statute expressly provides that certain other sections do not prohibit a retail licensee or single-event permittee from rounding the price of liquor in accordance with Section 32B-2-213.