How to round money
Round a currency result to the cent at the end, and avoid rounding the inputs first.
Short answer
Keep the extra digits through the multiplication or division. Round the final currency amount to the nearest cent. Half a cent rounds away from zero in the display used here.
Round once, at the end
A salary of $100,000 over 2,080 hours is $48.0769… which displays as $48.08. If you need the next week’s pay, multiply the unrounded hourly figure by the hours and round that product. Multiplying $48.08 by 40 is a cent or two off the unrounded path, which matters when you are reconciling a year.
Percentages shown as text can keep two decimals. A legal or payroll system may have its own rounding rule. When you are checking their number, use their rule rather than a general calculator.
Common mistakes
- Rounding both the rate and the weekly total and then expecting them to multiply back exactly.
Frequently asked questions
- Why do two honest totals differ by a cent?
- They rounded at different steps. Compare the unrounded formulas before you hunt for a missing dollar.
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