U.s. Government To Phase Out The Penny By 2026 - What It Means For Shoppers & Businesses

The U.S. government is phasing out the penny!

The Treasury Department will stop putting new pennies into circulation by early 2026, the Wall Street Journal reports.

There won’t be enough pennies to use in everyday cash transactions, so businesses will need to start rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents, the Treasury said in a statement.

This follows a long bipartisan effort to get rid of the lowest-denomination unit of American currency.

Keep reading to find out more…

President Trump has been critical of the penny, as was President Barack Obama.

Trump previously asked the Treasury to halt penny production. Bills to stop its production have been introduced in both chambers of Congress.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”

The U.S. Mint, which produces the Treasury’s coins, projects an annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs. The penny costs nearly 4 cents to make.

The Mint will stop making pennies after it runs out of the blank templates used to make them. The final order of blanks was placed this month, according to the statement.

Americans will still be able to use pennies in cash transactions after production stops.

Businesses will have to adjust pricing, and noncash transactions will continue to be priced at exact change.

The Treasury said state and local governments should provide guidance to retailers so that sales taxes are properly collected, per WSJ.

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