Campaign Contributions and Expenditures: Reporting and Limits

Federal campaign contributions and expenditures reporting rules require every political committee to keep detailed internal records of the money it takes in and pays out, and to disclose that activity to the Federal Election Commission on a fixed schedule using standardized forms. A treasurer runs the books, receipts and disbursements above set dollar thresholds are itemized on public reports, and separate 48-hour notices catch large contributions that arrive in the final weeks before an election. Missing a deadline draws an automatic fine.

What the Treasurer Must Record

A committee cannot accept a contribution or make a payment until it has appointed a treasurer and opened a dedicated campaign bank account. The treasurer authorizes spending, signs reports, and is personally responsible for the books. Contributions must be deposited into the campaign account within 10 days of receipt.¹

The internal record for each contribution depends on how much the donor gives:

Over $50: amount, date, and the contributor’s name and mailing address.
Over $200 in a calendar year from the same person: add the contributor’s occupation and employer.²

On the spending side, every disbursement over $200 must be backed by a receipt, invoice, or canceled check showing the date, amount, and purpose. All of these records must be preserved for at least three years after the report covering them is filed.³

In-Kind Contributions

When someone donates goods or services rather than money, such as free office space, catering, or design work, the committee records the item at its usual market value on the date received. That fair market value counts against the donor’s contribution limit like a cash gift. Donated stocks, artwork, or similar items intended for sale are recorded at fair market value as a memo entry until liquidated, at which point the sale proceeds are reported.⁴

What Has to Appear on the Disclosure Report

Candidate committees file FEC Form 3; PACs and party committees use Form 3X.⁵ Errors trigger a Request for Additional Information, which the committee has 35 days to answer. No extensions are granted.⁶

Itemizing Contributions

Any contribution that pushes a donor past $200 for the calendar year (or the election cycle, for candidate committees) must be individually itemized: full name, mailing address, occupation, and employer. When a donor does not volunteer employment information, the treasurer must make a documented “best efforts” attempt to collect it, typically a follow-up written request. The FEC evaluates whether the treasurer actually tried, not whether the answer came back.²

Itemizing Expenditures

Each disbursement over $200 must identify the payee by name and address with a brief purpose description. A vague entry like “consulting” invites follow-up; something like “voter contact mail production” answers the question up front. Common categories include advertising, rent, staff salaries, travel, and transfers to other authorized committees.

Debts and Obligations

Outstanding debts belong on the report too. Debts over $500 must be reported as of the date the obligation is incurred. Debts of $500 or less are reported when paid or 60 days after the obligation arises, whichever comes first. If the amount is not yet known, the committee reports an estimate and corrects it in a later filing.⁷

How and When to File

Committees that receive or spend more than $50,000 in a calendar year must file electronically.⁸ Smaller committees may still file on paper. The FEC provides free software called FECFile that handles formatting and transmission.⁹

Most candidate committees file quarterly. The 2026 schedule shows the rhythm:

April Quarterly: covers through March 31, due April 15.
July Quarterly: covers through June 30, due July 15.
October Quarterly: covers through September 30, due October 15.
Year-End: covers through December 31, due January 31, 2027.¹⁰

Candidate committees also file pre-election reports before any primary or general election the candidate is in, and a post-general report after the general.¹¹ Some larger PACs file monthly instead of quarterly.

48-Hour Notices for Late Contributions

Large contributions received close to an election get their own filing. If a candidate committee receives a contribution or loan of $1,000 or more during the window starting 20 days before an election and ending 48 hours before it, the committee must file a 48-Hour Notice within 48 hours of receipt using FEC Form 6. This applies to every type of election, including races where the candidate is unopposed. The threshold captures monetary and in-kind contributions, loans from non-bank sources, and candidate draws on personal credit cards. These contributions still get itemized again in the next regularly scheduled report.¹²

Contribution Limits and Prohibited Sources

Reporting sits on top of the underlying rules about who can give and how much. For the 2025–2026 cycle, the main limits are:¹³

Individual to a candidate: $3,500 per election (primary and general count separately, so one person can give $7,000 across both).
Multicandidate PAC to a candidate: $5,000 per election.
Individual to a national party committee: $44,300 per year.
Individual to a state, district, or local party committee: $10,000 per year combined.

Individual limits to candidates and to national party committees are indexed for inflation and adjust in odd-numbered years.¹⁴

Certain sources are barred from contributing to federal candidates altogether. Corporations and labor unions cannot donate from their treasuries, though they may set up a separate segregated fund that collects voluntary employee contributions. Foreign nationals who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents cannot contribute in any federal, state, or local election. Federal government contractors cannot give while the contract is active. Contributions made in the name of another person, including corporate reimbursement of employee donations, are illegal.¹⁵

Cash contributions from any single source are capped at $100 per election. Anonymous cash contributions are limited to $50; anything above that must be disposed of and cannot be used for campaign purposes.¹⁶

Personal Use of Campaign Funds

What a committee is allowed to spend campaign money on shapes what its expenditure reports will show. Federal law applies the “irrespective test”: if an expense would exist whether or not the person were running for office, the campaign cannot pay for it.¹⁷ The statute treats several categories as always off-limits:

Mortgage, rent, or utility payments for a personal residence.
Clothing purchases.
Tuition payments, unless for training campaign staff.
Household food and supplies.
Country club or health club dues.
Tickets to concerts, sporting events, or other entertainment unrelated to the campaign.
Vacation or personal travel expenses.
Funeral or burial expenses.¹⁸

The FEC regularly investigates complaints in this area, and the irrespective test does not forgive honest confusion.

Penalties for Late or Missing Reports

Late and non-filed reports are handled through the FEC’s Administrative Fine Program, a formula-driven system rather than case-by-case enforcement. The formula weighs four factors: how close the report is to an election, whether it was filed late or never filed, the level of financial activity on the report, and how many prior violations the committee has racked up. A missed pre-election report draws a steeper fine than a late year-end filing because of the election sensitivity factor. Repeat offenders face escalating penalties, with fines increasing by 25% for each prior violation assessed under the program during the current two-year election cycle.¹⁹

These are civil money penalties, not criminal charges, but they can be substantial for committees with high financial activity. The penalty is automatic once the deadline passes; there is no grace period and no warning letter.

Closing the Committee

A campaign cannot simply stop filing when the race is over. To formally terminate, the committee files a termination report showing that it no longer receives or intends to receive contributions, no longer makes or intends to make expenditures, and has accounted for all remaining funds. Until the FEC sends written confirmation granting termination, the committee must keep filing regular reports on schedule.²⁰

Debts are the main obstacle. Every debt must be paid in full, settled through a debt settlement plan reviewed by the Commission, forgiven by the creditor through an FEC-approved process, or otherwise resolved before the books can close.²¹ Committees involved in an active enforcement matter, audit, or litigation cannot terminate until that matter is resolved.²⁰

Leftover funds have to be disposed of in a lawful way, and each option is reported:

Refunds to donors.
Donations to charities described in 26 U.S.C. § 170(c), as long as the candidate does not receive compensation from the charity before it has spent the entire donation.
Transfers without limit to a national, state, or local party committee.
Donations to state and local candidates, subject to state law.
Any other lawful purpose that does not constitute personal use.¹⁷

1
Federal Election Commission. Appointing a Treasurer
2
Federal Election Commission. Recording Receipts
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30102 – Organization of Political Committees
4
eCFR. 11 CFR 104.13 – Disclosure of Receipt and Consumption of In-Kind Contributions
5
Federal Election Commission. FEC Form 3 – Report of Receipts and Disbursements for an Authorized Committee
6
Federal Election Commission. Request for Additional Information (RFAI)
7
eCFR. 11 CFR 104.11 – Continuous Reporting of Debts and Obligations
8
eCFR. 11 CFR 104.18 – Electronic Filing of Reports
9
Federal Election Commission. Electronic Filing – FECFile
10
Federal Election Commission. 2026 Quarterly Reports
11
Federal Election Commission. Reports Due in 2026
12
Federal Election Commission. Reporting 48-Hour Notices
13
Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30116 – Limitations on Contributions and Expenditures
15
Federal Election Commission. Who Can and Can’t Contribute
16
Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30114 – Use of Contributed Amounts for Certain Purposes
18
Federal Election Commission. Personal Use
19
Federal Register. Administrative Fines Program Expansion
20
Federal Election Commission. Terminating a Committee
21
eCFR. 11 CFR 116.7 – Debt Settlement Plans Filed by Terminating Committees