Legality of fractions of a cent

[taurusowner]

Wel all know that gas stations advertise the price of gas as something like 3.73and 9/10ths on the signs outside the store.  Do any of the more legally or financially learned types know how this is legal?  Are there any laws about advertising one price for something, and charging something else at the register?  If a gas station goes so far out of their way to advertise a price less than 3.74 in this example, like buying little fraction pieces for their sign, aren't they obligated to stick to that price when taking your money?

I know it's a small amount of money, but to me there's a principle at stake here.  If they tell me one price before I agree to the purchase, then demand another price when I check out, that's just not right.  How can consumers be charged in a denomination of money that doesn't even exist in the first place?

[freakazoid]

Do they actually figure it out with the fraction of a penny and then just round it at the end?

[MillCreek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_(currency)

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I've always wondered how they figure the fractional cents involved with sales taxes.  5% (or whatever) of your purchase rarely works out to an even full cent.

So do they round up or down when computing the sales tax?

I've known businesses to overcharge by one cent each and every time.  I used to make a game of figuring the total cost with sales tax whenever I went through a drive through.  The local Wendy's restaurants always overcharge by exactly one cent.  I even asked the cashier why.  She gave me a glazed look and said "that's what my cash register tells me to charge you."

[Devonai]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_(currency)

So does that make you the cheapest creek in the world?

[MillCreek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_(currency)

So does that make you the cheapest creek in the world?

I prefer 'good value for the money' creek

[Vodka7]

So do they round up or down when computing the sales tax?

They round like you would round anything else.  0-4 round down, 5-9 round up.  Least, that's been the case for every register I've ever used.

[Nick1911]

So do they round up or down when computing the sales tax?

They round like you would round anything else.  0-4 round down, 5-9 round up.  Least, that's been the case for every register I've ever used.

Ah, but doesn't the IRS always round up to the nearest whole dollar?  Maybe Mills are suppose to be rounded up to the nearest whole cent?

[Firethorn]

Ah, but doesn't the IRS always round up to the nearest whole dollar?  Maybe Mills are suppose to be rounded up to the nearest whole cent?

No, the taxes I've done have been round to the nearest dollar.  If you want, you can file your taxes down to the cent, but they let you round.

You see mills this case because they're selling a metered fluid/item.  For example, I pay .125 cents per gallon of water at home.  Yes, the decimal is at the right point.  Talk about markup at the store, right?   

For that matter, I believe that the taxes charged on gasoline have mills in them as well.

[ilbob]

The IRS rounds down for income tax purposes.

For sales tax, there is a government formula that is used. Used to be in chart form, now is programmed into the registers.

Long ago when sales taxes first came out, states created sales tax tokens worth fractional amounts of cents to be returned as change so fractional amounts of cents could be paid. This turned out to be impractical so they created the charts.

[Manedwolf]

Fractions of cents? Don't mess up with the decimal place in that...

[roo_ster]

So do they round up or down when computing the sales tax?

They round like you would round anything else.  0-4 round down, 5-9 round up.  Least, that's been the case for every register I've ever used.

Every place I have been to rounds up to the nearest cent & no round down.