Pennsylvania penny rounding law

With no Pennsylvania rule for store sales, the calculator applies the nearest-nickel method used by most state laws and the federal bill, or rounding in the customer’s favor. Choose another state to compare.

Pennsylvania law and bills

HB 2388, the “Pennsylvania Common Cents Act” (Rep. Nathan Davidson), passed the House 187-15 on June 24, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee on June 25, with no action since. The current version (Printer’s No. 3681) would:

• require symmetric rounding of the after-tax “grand total” for in-person payments in physical cash, by businesses (including utilities), Commonwealth agencies, municipal authorities and political subdivisions;
• round totals of 1–4¢ up to 5¢;
• exclude non-cash payments, payments in exact change, and sellers that can make exact change;
• carry utility rounding differences to the next bill, without making an account delinquent;
• compute sales tax before rounding, and say rounding is not a violation of the consumer protection law;
• take effect immediately, with up to a year to implement.

The 2025–2026 session ends November 30, 2026; if the Senate does not pass the bill by then, it dies and would have to be reintroduced.

What Pennsylvania agencies say

We found no statewide Department of Revenue guidance. The City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue announced on December 15, 2025 that its cashiers would stop giving pennies as change in early 2026 and would round cash payments symmetrically (1, 2, 6, 7 down; 3, 4, 8, 9 up), with no penalty or interest on the leftover cents.

Can a Pennsylvania store round cash totals?

Today, yes, as store policy, under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law’s general ban on deceptive practices. Philadelphia’s 2019 law requires most stores in the city to accept cash, so refusing cash is not an option there. Altoona-based Sheetz has encouraged cashless payment and penny donations rather than rounding.

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 Pennsylvania 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. Philadelphia is an exception: a 2019 city law requires most retail stores there to accept cash. 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 Pennsylvania Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection. See also is it legal for a store to round up?

Sales tax

Pennsylvania’s state sales tax rate is 6%, plus 1% in Allegheny County and 2% in Philadelphia. Most groceries and clothing are exempt. Compute tax on the actual price, then round only the cash total; HB 2388 would write that order into law. 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 Pennsylvania 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.

Rules in neighboring states

Shopping across the line? Rounding rules change at the border.

Checked against the sources below as of October 31, 2026. Compare every state in the state-by-state tracker.