Florida begins phasing out pennies, cash purchases now rounded to nearest nickel

New law rounds transactions to nearest nickel

Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that allows vendors to round up or down to the nearest nickel since pennies are no longer being manufactured. FOX 13's Heather Healy reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Pinching pennies are no longer a thing in Florida as they are being phased out of circulation.

The backstory:

Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that allows businesses to round up or down to the nearest nickel when you pay. 

For totals ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents in change round down, while totals ending in 3, 4, 8 or 9 cents round up to the nearest nickel.

This comes after the U.S. Mint halted penny production last year, because they cost more to produce than what they’re actually worth.

What they're saying:

Abigail Hall, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa, says this change could impact how people pay.

"Cash consumers tend toward people of lower incomes. There is some concern here about inequality because for cash transactions, they're subject to this rounding procedure," Hall said.

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This does not impact how sales tax is calculated or affect official sales prices. The rounding also does not apply to people paying for items with credit cards.

Eliminating the penny will save the U.S. Treasury $56 million annually.