That odd 9/10 cent tacked onto gas prices dates back over a century, but why does it exist? It began when early fuel taxes, introduced around 1919, were calculated in fractions of a cent—so gas stations passed the cost to consumers.
By the 1950s, stations routinely set prices at nine-tenths of a cent, blending tax pass-through with “psychological pricing,” a marketing trick that makes $3.99 feel cheaper than $4. While the fraction barely affects modern budgets, it remains a relic of pricing habits that refuse to fade.
Even though we can’t pay in tenths of a cent, the final total is simply rounded at the pump.
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