Tennessee Senate Bill SB1810

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/20/26
• Chaptered: 3/23/26
• Passed: 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

SB1810 creates a statewide cash-rounding rule for Tennessee when exact change is unavailable and the penny is no longer in production. It directs public and private entities that accept cash to round the total transaction amount to the nearest nickel using specified rounding thresholds, while leaving electronic transactions unchanged. For mixed-tender transactions, only the cash portion is rounded. The bill also clarifies that this rounding rule does not change how sales tax is calculated or remitted. Businesses and public entities must still compute sales tax to the penny and remit the exact tax amount shown on invoices or receipts. For public entities collecting taxes, fees, surcharges, or other assessments, the amount charged to the customer may be rounded for the transaction, but the government entity must still remit the exact amount due to the proper recipient.

Impact

The bill would amend Tennessee law in Title 47 and related provisions to authorize nickel rounding in cash transactions and to add a consumer-protection style rule for handling cash when pennies are unavailable. It would affect retailers, service providers, and public entities that accept cash, while expressly excluding electronic payments and preserving existing sales-tax calculation and remittance requirements under Title 67.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill was received favorably in committee, passing the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee 8-0 with an amendment and referral to the Senate Calendar Committee. No committee transcript is available, but the unanimous vote indicates broad support and little visible opposition at that stage.

Contention

The main policy issue is how to handle cash transactions if pennies are no longer produced, including the fairness and consistency of rounding up or down by one or two cents. Another point of potential concern is ensuring that rounding at the point of sale does not interfere with exact tax collection and remittance, especially for public entities collecting fees or assessments. The bill appears to address these concerns directly by limiting rounding to cash portions and preserving exact non-cash and tax accounting requirements.