Tennessee House Bill HB1744

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/20/26
• Refer: 1/22/26
• Refer: 2/11/26
• Refer: 2/18/26
• Engrossed: 2/24/26
• Enrolled: 3/4/26
• Passed: 3/18/26
• Chaptered: 3/23/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9; Title 45; Title 47, Chapter 50; Title 47, Chapter 18 and Title 67, relative to cash transactions.

Summary

HB1744 authorizes rounding certain cash transactions to the nearest nickel when a business or financial institution does not have exact change available and the penny is no longer in production. The bill sets specific rounding rules for amounts ending in one or two cents, three or four cents, six or seven cents, and eight or nine cents, and applies only to the cash portion of mixed-tender transactions. It also makes clear that electronic transactions are not subject to this rounding method. The bill further states that nickel-rounding does not change how sales tax is calculated or remitted. Businesses must still compute sales tax to the penny and remit the exact tax shown on invoices or receipts to the Department of Revenue. The measure amends Tennessee law in the areas of consumer protection, commercial transactions, and tax administration to create a legal framework for cash rounding if pennies are unavailable.

Impact

HB1744 amends Tennessee Code Annotated to add an express consumer-protection rule allowing cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents under specified conditions, and it adds a new section governing how private entities and financial institutions may handle cash payments when exact change is unavailable. It also clarifies that the rule does not apply to electronic payments and does not alter sales tax calculation or remittance requirements under Title 67. The bill therefore affects retailers, other cash-accepting businesses, financial institutions, and consumers by standardizing rounding practices in cash-only portions of transactions.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have received broadly favorable support throughout the legislative process. It advanced unanimously in the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee and the House Commerce Committee, then passed the House floor overwhelmingly with only one dissenting vote. It also passed the Senate without opposition. The voting pattern suggests the measure was viewed as a practical adjustment to cash-handling rules rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

There was little recorded contention around HB1744, but the main policy issue is how to handle cash transactions if pennies are no longer available. The bill addresses concerns about fairness and consistency by prescribing exact rounding thresholds and limiting the rule to cash transactions, while preserving exact treatment for electronic payments and sales tax. Any remaining concern would likely center on whether rounding could advantage or disadvantage consumers or businesses in individual transactions, though the near-unanimous votes indicate those concerns were not significant in debate.