acalculator

How much change do I give back?

Type the amount due and the cash the customer hands over. The change calculator shows the change to give back and the fewest bills and coins that make it up.

Your numbers

Change due
$6.63

Paying $20.00 for $13.37 gives $6.63 in change: 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 3 × pennies.

Amount due in cash
$13.37
Bills and coins
1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 3 × pennies
Bills and coins in all
8
In bills
$6.00
In coins
$0.63

Change due: $6.63. Paying $20.00 for $13.37 gives $6.63 in change: 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 3 × pennies.

How to calculate

Works out the change to give back from the amount due and the cash paid, and the fewest US bills and coins that make it up.

Example with the default inputs (Amount due $13.37, Cash paid $20.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ No, Use $2 bills and half dollars No): Paying $20.00 for $13.37 gives $6.63 in change: 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 3 × pennies.

Method: Change = cash paid − amount due, in whole cents; then, from the largest bill or coin down, give as many of each as fit in what is left.

  • Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent (half a cent rounds up) before the change is worked out.
  • With the 5¢ option, the amount due is rounded the way the Treasury recommends for cash with no pennies: 1, 2, 6, 7 cents down, 3, 4, 8, 9 cents up, and a total of 1¢ or 2¢ up to 5¢. The cash paid is not rounded.
  • Bills: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $1 (and $2 with the option on). Coins: quarter, dime, nickel, penny (and the half dollar with the option on). The $1 coin is left out.
  • Taking the largest piece that fits each time gives the fewest pieces for US money.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Amount due $13.37, Cash paid $20.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ no, Use $2 bills and half dollars no gives Change due $6.63, Bills and coins 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 3 × pennies, Bills and coins in all 8, In bills $6.00, In coins $0.63.Source: U.S. Mint, Circulating Coins (penny 1¢, nickel 5¢, dime 10¢, quarter 25¢, half dollar 50¢), https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coins-and-medals/circulating-coins, retrieved 2026-10-02
  2. Amount due $47.08, Cash paid $100.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ no, Use $2 bills and half dollars no gives Change due $52.92, Bills and coins 1 × $50 bill, 2 × $1 bills, 3 × quarters, 1 × dime, 1 × nickel, 2 × pennies, Bills and coins in all 10.Source: U.S. Currency Education Program, The Seven Denominations ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes), https://www.uscurrency.gov/denominations, retrieved 2026-10-02
  3. Amount due $47.08, Cash paid $100.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ no, Use $2 bills and half dollars yes gives Bills and coins 1 × $50 bill, 1 × $2 bill, 1 × half dollar, 1 × quarter, 1 × dime, 1 × nickel, 2 × pennies, Bills and coins in all 8.
  4. Amount due $5.00, Cash paid $5.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ no, Use $2 bills and half dollars no gives Change due $0.00, Bills and coins No change, Bills and coins in all 0.
  5. Amount due $0.10, Cash paid $0.30, Round the amount due to 5¢ no, Use $2 bills and half dollars no gives Change due $0.20, Bills and coins 2 × dimes, In coins $0.20.
  6. Amount due $13.37, Cash paid $20.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ yes, Use $2 bills and half dollars no gives Amount due $13.35, Change due $6.65, Bills and coins 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 1 × nickel.Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Penny Production Cessation FAQs (symmetric rounding to the nearest 5 cents), https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/penny-production-cessation-faqs, retrieved 2026-10-02
  7. Amount due $8.48, Cash paid $10.00, Round the amount due to 5¢ yes, Use $2 bills and half dollars no gives Amount due $8.50, Change due $1.50.

How it works

  1. Each amount (from $0 to $1,000,000,000) is rounded to the nearest cent, half a cent up, from the exact decimal typed.

  2. With Round the amount due to 5¢ on, the amount due in cents is rounded to a multiple of 5: a last digit of 0 or 5 stays; 1 or 2, and 6 or 7, round down; 3 or 4, and 8 or 9, round up. A total of 1¢ or 2¢ rounds up to 5¢. The cash paid is not rounded. This is the Amount due in cash.

  3. Change due = cash paid − amount due in cash. When the cash paid is less, there is no answer, and the page says how many dollars short it is: "The cash paid is $X short of the amount due." with X to 2 decimal places.

  4. The change is split from the largest piece down, taking as many of each as fit in what is left:

    • everyday: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $1 bills, then quarter (25¢), dime (10¢), nickel (5¢), penny (1¢);
    • with Use $2 bills and half dollars on, the $2 bill comes after the $5 bill and the half dollar (50¢) after the $1 bill.

    The $1 coin is not used. For US money this greedy rule gives the fewest pieces.

The calculator shows:

  • Bills and coins: each piece used, largest first, as count × name, joined by a comma and a space. The name is plural when the count is more than 1: $5 bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies, half dollars. With no change it says No change.
  • Bills and coins in all: the number of pieces.
  • In bills and In coins: the value given in bills and in coins.

Worked examples by hand

$13.37 paid with $20. 20.00 − 13.37 = $6.63 = $5 + $1 + 2 × 25¢ + 10¢ + 3 × 1¢: 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 3 × pennies, 8 pieces, $6 in bills and $0.63 in coins.

$47.08 paid with $100. 100 − 47.08 = $52.92 = $50 + 2 × $1 + 3 × 25¢ + 10¢ + 5¢ + 2 × 1¢: 10 pieces. With $2 bills and half dollars: $50 + $2 + 50¢ + 25¢ + 10¢ + 5¢ + 2 × 1¢: 8 pieces.

$5 paid with $5. No change.

$0.10 paid with $0.30. 30¢ − 10¢ = 20¢: 2 × dimes.

$13.37 with the 5¢ option, paid with $20. 13.37 ends in 7, so the amount due in cash is $13.35; the change is $6.65: 1 × $5 bill, 1 × $1 bill, 2 × quarters, 1 × dime, 1 × nickel.

$8.48 with the 5¢ option, paid with $10. 8.48 ends in 8, so it rounds up to $8.50; the change is $1.50.

Other questions people ask

How do I work out the change to give back?

Subtract the amount due from the cash paid. For a $13.37 bill paid with $20, the change is 20.00 − 13.37 = $6.63.

How do I count out change with the fewest bills and coins?

Start with the largest bill or coin that fits and give as many as fit, then move to the next one down. $6.63 is one $5 bill, one $1 bill, two quarters, one dime and three pennies: 8 pieces.

Do I still give pennies?

The US Mint pressed its last circulating penny in November 2025, so many stores now round cash totals to 5¢. Turn on the 5¢ option: an amount due ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents rounds down, and one ending in 3, 4, 8 or 9 cents rounds up, as the Treasury recommends. $13.37 becomes $13.35.

Why are $2 bills and half dollars left out?

They are legal tender, but few tills hold them. Turn on the option to use them; $52.92 then takes 8 pieces instead of 10.

What if the cash paid is less than the amount due?

There is no change. The calculator says how much more the customer needs to pay.

Is the rounding to 5¢ used for card payments?

No. The Treasury guidance is for cash only, after taxes and fees. Card, check and other non-cash payments are still charged to the cent.