How to Combine Dollars in AP Style
Instructions
Writing about Dollars and Cents
1Use the dollar sign before the amount you are writing about; never write out the word "dollars" after any amount.
$5
$500
$5,000
$50,000
$500,000
2
Round amounts up or down when an exact figure is not essential to the story.
Over $200,000 (not $203,052)
Over $575,000 (not $579,001)
or
Almost $800,000 (not $797,964)
Almost $450,000 (not $446,389)
3
Write out the words with the dollar sign for amounts of $1 million and higher.
$72 million
$6 billion
$2.7 trillion
4
Write a number followed by the word "cents" for amounts of money less than $1.
10 cents
22 cents
50 cents
99 cents
Combining Dollars and Cents
1Use a dollar sign and a decimal point when writing an amount that combines dollars and cents.
$62.50
$459.03
$5,698.22
2
Add dollars and cents in writing by combining the forms from Section 1, Steps 1 and 4; and Section 2, Step 1.
"The boy bought a piece of candy for 25 cents and a cake for $3, bringing his total to $3.25."
"John spent a total of $56.23 on a present, $22.05 at one store and $34.18 at another."
3
Add large dollar amounts to each other in writing by combining the forms from from Section 1, Steps 1 and 3.
"The CEO earned $6.5 million and spent $3 million on a private plane, leaving him with $3.5 million."
"Lisa spent $1.8 million last month, $1.5 million on a house and $300,000 on a yacht."
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