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Committee hears bill to standardize cash rounding after penny phaseout; retailers seek clarifications

Washington State Senate Business, Trade and Economic Development Committee · January 28, 2026
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Summary

SB 6230 would require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest nickel after taxes and discounts, following the U.S. Treasury's cessation of penny production; retailers and grocery associations supported the measure but requested clarifications for SNAP/EBT, POS changes, audit protections and local ordinance conflicts.

Committee staff John Kim briefed senators on SB 6230, explaining that the U.S. Department of the Treasury ceased minting new pennies in 2025 and recommended rounding cash transactions to the nearest 5¢ increment. The bill would require retail cash transactions to be rounded after all applicable taxes, fees, adjustments or discounts are applied; totals ending in 1¢, 2¢, 6¢ and 7¢ would round down, while totals ending in 3¢, 4¢, 8¢ and 9¢ would round up. The Department of Revenue may adopt rules for mixed payment methods.

Senator Noelle Frayme, sponsor, said the measure provides predictability for businesses and POS vendors now that the penny is being phased out. "We wanted to move quickly and get ahead of this problem and put this framework into place," she said.

Witnesses representing the Washington Retail Association, Washington Food Industry Association, and Northwest Grocery Association supported the bill but asked for protective amendments to address sales-tax auditing, rounding liability, and the SNAP equal-treatment rule that prevents charging EBT customers different prices. Retailers proposed permissive language so stores may still accept exact change and sought safe-harbor language where local ordinances require parity between cash and electronic prices.

Staff said a fiscal note was pending but that the Department of Revenue had notified staff of minimal, absorbable costs. The committee took testimony and did not vote on the bill during the hearing.

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