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HB545 • 2026

Legal tender; authorizing the rounding of in-person cash transactions to the nearest five cents

Legal tender; authorizing the rounding of in-person cash transactions to the nearest five cents

Education Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Crow
Last action
2026-04-17
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
2026-04-16

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide additional details beyond what is already stated, so no further information could be added without speculation.

Rounding Cash Transactions

This law allows businesses to round cash payments in person to the nearest five cents, but not for transactions with government entities.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows businesses to round cash payment amounts up or down to the nearest five cents.
  • Doesn't change the original price of items or sales tax collected.
  • Can be applied either to the total amount due or to the change given back.
  • Does not apply when paying with methods other than cash, like credit cards or checks.
  • Requires the Department of Revenue to post a notice about this rounding on their website.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Businesses that accept cash payments in person
  • Customers who pay for goods and services with cash

Terms To Know

Legal tender
Money that is officially accepted as payment for debts or taxes.
Governmental entity
A state or local agency, including departments and offices run by the government.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not apply to transactions with governmental entities.
  • The rounding rules only apply to in-person cash transactions.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

MS3I61H-1

R 1018

Adopted

Plain English: MS3I61H-1 03/10/2026 JWB (H) HSE 2026-1105 House Financial Services Reported Substitute for HB545 Page 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Related to legal tender; to authorize the rounding of the total amount of any in-person cash transaction to the nearest five cents.

  • MS3I61H-1 03/10/2026 JWB (H) HSE 2026-1105 House Financial Services Reported Substitute for HB545 Page 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Related to legal tender; to authorize the rounding of the total amount of any in-person cash transaction to the nearest five cents.
  • BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1.
  • (a) The amount of an in-person cash transaction may be rounded to the nearest five cents using the following methodology: (1) If the final digit of the amount in the transaction is one or two, the final digit must be rounded down to zero.
  • (2) If the final digit is three or four, the final digit must be rounded up to five.
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.
PSDNNRG-1

R 1178 • Hovey

Adopted

Plain English: PSDNNRG-1 : 4/7/2026 : KMS 1ST FIGURES AMENDMENT TO HB545 OFFERED BY SENATOR FIGURES Page 1 Replace line 50 on page 2 with the following: rounding transactions pursuant to this section.

  • PSDNNRG-1 : 4/7/2026 : KMS 1ST FIGURES AMENDMENT TO HB545 OFFERED BY SENATOR FIGURES Page 1 Replace line 50 on page 2 with the following: rounding transactions pursuant to this section.
  • (e) Any overage paid by rounding up pursuant to this section shall be deposited by the retailer or seller into the Education Trust Fund on a monthly basis.
  • Any rounding down shall be a tax credit to the retailer or seller.
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  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-17 House

    Enacted

  2. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1179 (Yeas 31, Nays 1)

  3. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Hovey motion to Table - Adopted Roll Call 1178 (Yeas 25, Nays 8)

  4. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 31, Nays 0)

  5. 2026-04-07 House

    Delivered to Governor

  6. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Signature Requested

  7. 2026-04-07 House

    Enrolled

  8. 2026-04-07 House

    Ready to Enroll

  9. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Figures 1st Amendment Offered

  10. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  11. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  12. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  13. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance

  14. 2026-03-19 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 1019 (Yeas 100, Nays 1)

  15. 2026-03-19 House

    Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1018 (Yeas 101, Nays 1)

  16. 2026-03-19 House

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 101, Nays 1)

  17. 2026-03-19 House

    Engrossed

  18. 2026-03-19 House

    Financial Services Engrossed Substitute Offered

  19. 2026-03-10 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  20. 2026-03-10 House

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  21. 2026-03-03 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  22. 2026-03-03 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services

Official Summary Text

This act: (1) authorizes the rounding of in-person, cash transactions to the nearest five cents, except payment to state or local governmental entities; (2) provides that rounding a transaction does not affect the sale price or sales tax collected; and (3) authorizes rounding to be applied to the amount of the transaction or the amount of change tendered to customers.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB545 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB545
MS3I61H-3
By Representatives Crow, Whitt, Crawford, Paramore, Lomax,
DuBose, Nelson, Allbright, Rigsby, Brown, Sorrells
RFD: Financial Services
First Read: 03-Mar-26
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HB545 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 03-Mar-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Related to legal tender; to authorize the rounding of
the total amount of any in-person cash transaction to the
nearest five cents.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) The amount of an in-person cash
transaction may be rounded to the nearest five cents using the
following methodology:
(1) If the final digit of the amount in the transaction
is one or two, the final digit must be rounded down to zero.
(2) If the final digit is three or four, the final
digit must be rounded up to five.
(3) If the final digit is six or seven, the final digit
must be rounded down to five.
(4) If the final digit is eight or nine, the final
digit must be rounded up to zero.
(5) If the final digit is five or zero, the final digit
must not be rounded.
(b) Subsection (a) does not alter the sales price, the
amount of tax collected under Section 40-23-26, Code of
Alabama 1975, or any other authority providing for the
collection of sales tax, or any surcharges, assessments, or
fees imposed on the sale.
(c)(1) Subsection (a) may apply to the amount of the
transaction or to the amount of change tendered to the
purchaser.
(2) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any transaction
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HB545 Enrolled
Page 2
(2) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any transaction
for which payment is made by a method other than cash,
including electronic funds transfer, check, gift card, money
order, or credit card. If the transaction is made using both
cash and another form of payment, subsection (a) shall apply
to the portion of the transaction amount that is paid for
using cash.
(3) Subsection (a) shall not alter or affect any
payment amount authorized, cleared, or settled through any
payment system that does not use cash.
(4) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any transaction
where payment is made to a governmental entity. For purposes
of this subdivision, "governmental entity" means any state or
local agency or instrumentality thereof located in the state.
(d) The Department of Revenue shall post a notice on
the department's website stating the authorization to begin
rounding transactions pursuant to this section.
Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately.
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HB545 Enrolled
Page 3
Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately.
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
House of Representatives
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and
was passed by the House 19-Mar-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 07-Apr-26 Amended and Passed
House Concurred in Senate
Amendment
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