Using dollar amounts in a sentence

[Anonymous]

Can you please tell me which is correct when using a dollar amount in a
letter? $5000 or $5000.00?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Can you please tell me which is correct when using a dollar amount in a
letter? $5000 or $5000.00?

Either form would be acceptable, but it could be argued that there should be a comma after the 5 (in American English). If there are multiple amounts listed, the forms should be consistent. If there are no cents in any of the amounts, I would use the shorter and simpler $5,000.

 

[gwendolinest]

Either form would be acceptable, but it could be argued that there should be a comma after the 5 (in American English).

This is also the style in British English (eg 12,345).

However, I’ve seen many UK-published books in which a space is used instead (12 345). I believe this is to avoid confusion in the international sphere, since the comma is used as a decimal separator instead in many non-English-speaking countries.

The disadvantage of using a space as a separator for long numbers is that it must be a non-breaking space. If you don’t use a non-breaking space, your number may appear as “12” at the end of one line and “345” at the start of the next during word wrapping.

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