Due to the shortage of pennies, costs owed to pay a Fairfax County fee or tax in cash will now be rounded up or down to the nearest nickel.
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Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn said on social media Wednesday that the county has passed a new law mandating that pennies no longer be given out as change, a measure that will sunset on July 1, 2027, as Virginia works towards a more permanent solution to the discontinuation of the penny.
The stop in penny production has caused shortages.
“The lack of new coins, coupled with the underutilization and circulation of existing coins, has already led to shortages that are impacting the ability of businesses and governments to obtain pennies for cash transactions,” Fairfax County Finance Department Banking and Investments Division Chief Christopher Hartl told WTOP-FM.
Amounts owed for applicable cash transactions will be rounded down if the amount ends in a one, two, six or seven, and will be rounded up if the amount ends in a three, four, eight or nine.
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The U.S. Mint stopped producing pennies last year on President Trump’s orders because pennies cost more to make than they are worth as a coin.
During fiscal 2025, pennies cost over 3 cents to make and nickels cost over 13 cents to make, the 20th year in a row their production cost outweighed their value as coins, according to a U.S. Mint report.
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