The phasing out of the penny has caused some confusion for consumers.
Several viewers have contacted CTV with questions about how retailers should be handling transactions that no longer include the penny. Some viewers say they’ve seen retailers only round up, while others are only rounding down. Other viewers have complained that some retailers are rounding off to the nearest nickel on all purchases, including credit card and debit.
According to the federal government’s guidelines, only cash payments will need to be rounded to the nearest five-cent increment.
That means amounts ending in 1 cent and 2 cents are rounded down and amounts ending in 6 and 7 cents are also rounded down. If your bill ends in 3 or 4 cents, it would be rounded up and amounts ending in 8 and 9 cents would also be rounded up.
Round Down Round Up
$1.01 or $1.02 to $1.00 $1.03 or $1.04 to $1.05
$1.06 or $1.07 to $1.05 $1.08 or $1.09 to $1.10
Rounding should only be used on the total amount charged after the calculation of any applicable taxes such as the GST and HST.
Example
Company XYZ Inc. is invoiced for plumbing repairs.
Repairs to pipes $689.93
HST @ 12% $ 82.79
Total $772.72
Amount paid $772.70 (rounded)
For more information log onto the Canada Revenue Agency’s website:
