Montana penny rounding law
No law or guidance. The Legislature meets in odd years and held no regular session in 2026; the next one starts January 2027. No sales tax.
Short answer. Montana has no cash rounding law or guidance, and none could pass in 2026 because the Legislature meets in odd-numbered years. With no sales tax, rounding in Montana is purely a store pricing choice.
Montana cash rounding calculator
Enter a cash total, or item prices plus your sales tax rate. The result updates as you type.
Montana law and bills
Montana’s Legislature meets in regular session only in odd-numbered years. The 2025 session ended before the Mint stopped making pennies, and there was no regular session in 2026, so the earliest a rounding bill could pass is the 2027 session, which begins in January 2027. We found no Department of Revenue or Department of Justice guidance on rounding.
Can a Montana store round cash totals?
As store policy, yes. Montana’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act bars deceptive practices, so stores that round should say so and round both ways. Rounding down is always a lawful discount.
Federal law
There is no federal rounding rule in force either. The Common Cents Act (H.R. 10167) passed Congress on September 28, 2026, but as of October 31, 2026 we found no record of it being signed. If enacted, it would let sellers in Montana round cash totals symmetrically to the nearest 5¢ without requiring anyone to round, keep pennies legal tender, and protect sellers that follow its method from conflicting state or local rules. Federal status of the penny.
Your options as a customer
- Pay by card, debit, EBT or app. Those payments are charged the exact amount; rounding only ever touches cash.
- Pay with exact change. Pennies are still legal tender (31 U.S.C. § 5103). The Federal Reserve notes, though, that no federal law makes a private business accept cash or coins. We found no Montana law that changes that, so a store sets its own payment policy. Federal Reserve FAQ.
- Check the receipt. It should show the exact total and a separate rounding line, so you can see which way it went.
- Report a problem. If a store rounds every cash total up without telling customers, contact the Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection. See also is it legal for a store to round up?
Sales tax
Montana has no general sales tax. Some resort communities levy a local resort tax, and lodging taxes apply to hotel stays. For most purchases there is no tax line at all, so rounding only changes the cash total. More on sales tax and cash rounding.
SNAP, EBT and card payments
SNAP and WIC benefits are paid electronically, so the EBT part of any purchase in Montana is always charged to the exact cent. Federal rules require stores to treat SNAP shoppers the same as other customers, so a store that rounds the cash part of a split payment should use the same rule for everyone. SNAP/EBT, cards and refunds.
Stores and local news in Montana
K’MON 560 AM in Great Falls reported in April 2026 that some Montana businesses were asking customers for exact change or rounding cash to the nearest nickel, with no state rule to follow.
Rules in neighboring states
Shopping across the line? Rounding rules change at the border.
| State | Status | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | Law in effect | Optional symmetric rounding when a seller cannot settle a cash sale to the cent; applies to cash refunds. Tax on the pre-rounding price. |
| Wyoming | No law found | No law. HB0071, “No more pennies-rounding cash payments,” failed to be introduced in the 2026 budget session. No agency guidance found. |
| South Dakota | Agency guidance only | No statute. DOR (Apr. 2026): compute tax on the taxable total first; a retailer may then round the cash total to the nearest nickel without changing the tax. |
| North Dakota | No law found | No law or guidance. No regular session in 2026; the two special sessions covered other topics. The next regular session starts January 2027. |