Subtracting Money

Twenty subtraction problems a sheet, with the larger amount always on top so no answer is ever negative. Amounts land on whole dollars often enough that problems like $4.00 - $1.35 turn up regularly, which is the case worth practising: borrowing across two columns at once.

Pairs that are equal are skipped rather than printed, since an answer of zero practises nothing. Set Amounts to Under $1 to keep everything inside the cents column while borrowing is still new.

Frequently asked questions

How do you subtract money?

Align the decimal points, subtract the cents, borrowing a dollar as 100 cents if you need to, then subtract the dollars. A whole-dollar amount on top means borrowing through two columns.

Will any answers be negative?

No. Each pair is ordered so the larger amount is on top.

Is there an answer key?

Turn on Include Answer Pages and a matching key prints behind each worksheet page, with the problems in the same order and every answer written to the cent.

Is this the same as making change?

It is the arithmetic behind it. Making change from a note is a subtraction of exactly this kind, written the same way.