nickel rounding – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida SB 1074 allowing cash payments to round to the nearest nickel as pennies phase out.
Florida is moving into a penny-less reality, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation to make cash transactions work in that new world.
DeSantis signed SB 1074 on Monday, a measure that allows vendors to round prices to the nearest nickel when customers pay with cash now that pennies are no longer being manufactured. The bill took effect immediately and was signed with limited public ceremony.
Supporters framed the change as a practical fix for a problem that becomes more common as pennies disappear from everyday use.. Lawmakers said the federal government stopped producing pennies last year, meaning businesses may soon be unable to assemble exact change.. Rep.. Fiona McFarland, who sponsored the House version, and Sen.. Don Gaetz. who carried the Senate bill. argued the law will “codify” the appropriate rounding method once pennies are no longer available in circulation.
The statute sets out a clear rounding schedule for purchases that would otherwise end in amounts that depend on pennies.. Transactions ending in 1 or 2 cents are rounded down to zero, while purchases ending in 3 or 4 cents round up to 5 cents.. Amounts ending in 6 or 7 cents round down to 5 cents. and transactions ending in 8 or 9 cents round up to the next 10 cents.
Crucially, SB 1074 does not change how sales tax is calculated, and it does not alter official sales prices.. The rounding requirement is also limited in scope: it does not apply to customers paying with credit cards. which means the transaction amount for card payments follows existing pricing and payment processing practices rather than the nickel rounding schedule.
The change reflects a broader shift in U.S.. coinage.. The penny has a long place in American history, first minted by the U.S.. Mint after its establishment in 1792, according to the U.S.. Mint’s website.. With production halted. Florida’s law is essentially an attempt to standardize how exact prices are handled in day-to-day retail when pennies are no longer part of the cash toolkit.
The legislation also comes amid arguments about the costs of maintaining a coin that has become harder to justify.. The elimination of the penny is estimated to save the U.S.. Treasury $56 million annually.. President Donald Trump previously criticized penny spending on social media, calling the practice wasteful.
For Florida consumers. the immediate impact is likely to be subtle but noticeable: fewer transactions will require pennies for exact totals.. Instead. businesses will follow a consistent rounding rule tied to the nearest nickel. reducing friction at checkout as the country’s cash economy adjusts to fewer pennies in circulation.
DeSantis SB 1074 penny elimination cash rounding nickel rounding Florida legislation sales tax rules
So we’re just… rounding everything weird now? I get that pennies are going away, but making a whole law about it feels a little “control the checkout line” to me. Like, couldn’t businesses just agree on a rounding practice without the government stepping in?
Megan O’Donnell, I hear you, but the point is businesses won’t all use the same method otherwise. The article lays out the schedule (1-2 down, 3-4 up, 6-7 down, 8-9 up) so customers aren’t getting different rounding depending on the store. That’s less about “control” and more about preventing disputes at the register.
Next up: DeSantis signs a bill telling my change jar how to feel about math. But honestly, the part I’m watching is the sales tax bit—like if they’re not changing how sales tax is calculated and the official price doesn’t change, then who actually loses here? Also, Megan’s right that it sounds bureaucratic, but Caleb’s right too that consistency matters when you’re paying cash.
Honestly, I’ll take the nickel rounding over the awkward “do you have two pennies?” moments. Cash already feels like a relic sometimes, so at least this makes it predictable. Credit cards not changing is the real tell though—this is basically for places that still get a lot of cash customers.