Oregon penny rounding law
Reported: optional symmetric rounding of in-person cash sales under a posted, consistently applied policy; exact-change payers not rounded. We could not read the enrolled text.
Reported details. We could not open the Oregon Legislature’s enrolled text of HB 4178. The chapter number, dates and rules below come from bill-summary services, a tax firm’s survey and Oregon Capital Chronicle reporting. Check the official text before relying on it.
Oregon cash rounding calculator
Enter a cash total, or item prices plus your sales tax rate. The result updates as you type.
The rounding rule
As reported, a business may adopt a cash rounding policy that rounds the total to the nearest five cents: 1, 2, 6 and 7 cents down, 3, 4, 8 and 9 cents up, 0 and 5 unchanged. A business that adopts a policy must apply it consistently to all in-person cash and mixed-tender transactions. A customer who pays the exact total in cash is not rounded.
Who it applies to
Businesses making in-person sales that choose to adopt a rounding policy. Sales conducted entirely by phone, mail or internet are reportedly exempt. Public bodies may reportedly adopt their own rounding policies for goods, services, fees and taxes, applied consistently and publicized. The Oregon Capital Chronicle reported that the act amends Oregon’s cash-acceptance and anti-discrimination laws so that compliant rounding is not treated as charging cash customers differently.
Customer notice
As reported, a business that rounds must post notice of its rounding policy; news reports describe signs at the point of sale or storefront. We have not seen any required wording.
Make a printable Oregon cash rounding sign with the state wording.
Sales tax
Oregon has no state or local general sales tax, so there is no sales tax to compute before rounding. Keep the exact total and the rounding adjustment on the receipt for your own records. More on sales tax and cash rounding.
What is not rounded
- Card, debit and other non-cash payments are charged the exact amount.
- Mixed tender (reported): if cash is paid first, nothing is rounded; if another method is paid first, only the remaining cash balance may be rounded.
- Transactions conducted entirely by phone, mail or internet (reported).
Pennies, enforcement and safe harbors
A customer who pays the exact total in cash is reportedly not rounded.
As reported, rounding that follows the act is not an unlawful trade practice. Consumer complaints go to the Oregon Department of Justice consumer hotline, 1-877-877-9392.
The law
| Law | HB 4178 (2026), Oregon Laws 2026, Ch. 126 (reported) |
|---|---|
| Signed | April 7, 2026 (reported) |
| Effective | April 7, 2026 (reported: emergency clause, effective on signing) |
| Status | Law in effect (reported) |
Frequently asked questions
Is cash rounding required in Oregon?
Does an Oregon store need a sign to round?
Can I avoid rounding in Oregon by paying exact change?
Does Oregon's rounding apply to card payments?
Sources
- Oregon Legislature: HB 4178 (2026) measure overview
- PolicyRisk: OR HB 4178 (2026) bill summary
- Oregon Capital Chronicle via Philomath News: Oregon Legislature votes to round pennies after lack of federal guidance (Mar. 6, 2026)
- BDO: States begin addressing sales tax effects of cessation of penny production (May 1, 2026)
- Oregon Department of Justice: Consumer protection