Federal campaign finance law sets dollar limits on political contributions, bans money from certain sources, requires public disclosure of donors and spending, and gives the Federal Election Commission authority to punish violations with civil fines or criminal referrals. For the 2025–2026 election cycle, an individual can give up to $3,500 per election to a federal candidate, and that single number sits inside a much larger framework covering parties, PACs, corporations, unions, nonprofits, and the ads campaigns run.1Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026
How Much an Individual Can Give
The $3,500 cap applies per election, and the primary and general count separately. That means one donor can direct $7,000 to the same candidate across a full cycle. The limits adjust for inflation every two years based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which is why the figure has climbed from the $2,000 base written into the statute.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30116 – Limitations on Contributions and Expenditures
Party giving works differently. An individual can give up to $44,300 per year to a national party committee, and national parties also run separate accounts for their presidential nominating conventions, legal proceedings, and headquarters buildings. Each of those accounts can accept up to $132,900 per year from one person.3Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026 Because a party’s national committee, its Senate campaign committee, and its House campaign committee each count separately, the total a single donor can send to one party adds up fast.
There is no longer any overall aggregate ceiling on how much an individual can give across all federal candidates and committees combined. The Supreme Court struck down that overall limit in 2014. Per-candidate and per-committee limits still apply; the total across all of them does not.
Who Cannot Give at All
Some sources are barred entirely. Corporations and labor unions cannot use their general treasury money to support or oppose federal candidates, whether by direct contribution or independent expenditure.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30118 – Contributions or Expenditures by National Banks, Corporations, or Labor Organizations They can only participate through connected PACs funded by voluntary contributions from a defined group of people tied to the organization.
Federal contractors are similarly locked out. Any person or entity negotiating or performing a federal contract is prohibited from contributing to any federal candidate, party committee, or PAC for the duration of the contract.5eCFR. 11 CFR Part 115 – Federal Contractors
Foreign nationals face the broadest ban. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident cannot contribute to, donate to, or spend independently in connection with any election in the United States, whether federal, state, or local. It is also illegal for anyone to solicit or accept a contribution from a foreign national.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30121 – Contributions and Donations by Foreign Nationals
Types of PACs and What They Can Do
Political action committees come in several forms, each with its own rules about who can give, what it can accept, and how it can spend.
Connected PACs
A connected PAC (formally a separate segregated fund) is sponsored by a corporation, union, or trade association. It can only solicit contributions from a limited class tied to the sponsor: for a corporate PAC, stockholders, executives, and their families; for a union PAC, members, executives, and their families.7eCFR. 11 CFR 114.5 – Separate Segregated Funds The sponsor can pay the PAC’s administrative costs from its treasury, so every contributed dollar goes to political activity. Once a PAC qualifies as a multicandidate committee (registered at least six months, more than 50 contributors, contributions to at least five federal candidates), it can give up to $5,000 per election to a candidate.3Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026
Nonconnected PACs
Nonconnected PACs have no sponsor. They can raise money from the general public but must pay their own overhead from the contributions they receive. Multicandidate limits apply once they qualify.
Super PACs
Super PACs, formally known as Independent Expenditure-Only Committees, can raise unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations, and unions. Their legal footing comes from two decisions. In Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protects corporate spending on independent political broadcasts. Shortly after, the D.C. Circuit ruled in SpeechNow.org v. FEC that contribution limits cannot apply to groups making only independent expenditures.8Federal Election Commission. Speechnow.org v. FEC The binding restriction is that a Super PAC cannot coordinate its spending with any candidate, campaign, or political party. Coordinated spending is treated as a direct contribution and falls back under the normal dollar limits.
Leadership PACs
Sitting members of Congress and other federal officeholders often set up leadership PACs to support other candidates. A leadership PAC is established, funded, or controlled by a federal candidate or officeholder but is not that person’s authorized campaign committee.9Federal Election Commission. Leadership PACs It operates under the same limits as any other nonconnected PAC.
Hybrid PACs
A hybrid PAC (sometimes called a Carey Committee) runs two separate bank accounts. One follows the normal contribution limits and can give directly to federal candidates. The other accepts unlimited contributions and is restricted to independent expenditures.10Federal Election Commission. Registering as a Hybrid PAC Money in the unlimited account cannot fund direct contributions, in-kind support, or coordinated spending. The two accounts have to stay strictly segregated.
How Campaigns Can Spend the Money
Every dollar a campaign spends has to relate to running for or holding federal office. The personal use prohibition is where most candidates get caught: if the expense would exist regardless of the campaign, campaign funds cannot cover it.11eCFR. 11 CFR 113.2 – Permissible Non-Campaign Use of Funds Mortgage payments, gym memberships, personal clothing, and tuition for a candidate’s children are all off-limits. Mixed-purpose costs get evaluated case by case.
Coordinated party spending is treated separately. When a political party works directly with a candidate on specific expenditures, that spending counts as a contribution subject to limits. For the 2026 elections, parties can make coordinated expenditures of $65,300 for House races in multi-district states, and between $130,600 and roughly $4 million for Senate races depending on the state’s voting-age population.12Federal Election Commission. Coordinated Party Expenditure Limits Adjusted for 2026
Leftover Money When the Campaign Ends
Surplus funds cannot become personal money. The rules allow several legitimate uses:
- Donations to any tax-exempt organization qualifying under Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
- Unlimited transfers to any national, state, or local party committee.
- Ordinary officeholder expenses, including winding down a former officeholder’s operations for up to six months after leaving office.
- Retention for a future federal candidacy.
- Donations to state and local candidates, subject to the receiving state’s laws.
The personal use ban follows the money. A former candidate who converts surplus funds to personal use faces the same enforcement consequences as one who does it mid-campaign.13eCFR. 11 CFR Part 113 – Permitted and Prohibited Uses of Campaign Accounts
Disclosure and Reporting
Transparency is enforced through mandatory reporting. Campaigns and committees must disclose the identity of every person who contributes more than $200 in the aggregate during the reporting period.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30104 – Reporting Requirements “Identification” is defined by statute to include the contributor’s name, mailing address, occupation, and employer.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30101 – Definitions Every disbursement must also be documented, regardless of amount, with the date, dollar figure, and purpose. In-kind contributions, meaning goods or services provided for free or below market value, have to be reported at fair market value.
A federal candidate must register with the FEC and start filing once they raise or spend more than $5,000.16Federal Election Commission. Registering as a Candidate A nonconnected committee registers at a lower threshold: $1,000 in contributions or expenditures in a calendar year, with registration due within 10 days.17Federal Election Commission. Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees
House and Senate campaigns file quarterly. Presidential campaigns can choose monthly or quarterly. Any committee that receives or spends more than $50,000 in a calendar year must file electronically, and electronic reports have to be received and validated by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline. In the final 20 days before an election (but more than 48 hours out), principal campaign committees for House and Senate candidates must file a 48-hour notice for any contribution of $1,000 or more.18Federal Election Commission. Reports Due in 2026
Where Nonprofits Fit
Tax-exempt organizations sit in a complicated part of the system, and the rules turn on which section of the tax code the group is organized under.
A 501(c)(3) charity faces an absolute ban on political campaign activity. It cannot participate in or intervene in any campaign for elective public office through money, endorsements, or any activity that favors or opposes a candidate. Violating the ban can cost the organization its tax-exempt status and trigger excise taxes.19Internal Revenue Service. Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations Nonpartisan voter registration and educational forums are permitted so long as they show no candidate bias.
A 501(c)(4) social welfare organization has more latitude. It can engage in some political activity as long as that is not its primary activity.20Internal Revenue Service. Social Welfare Organizations The IRS has never set a bright-line percentage for what “primary” means, and political spending by a 501(c)(4) can also be subject to tax. Because these groups do not publicly disclose donors the way PACs do, their spending is often called “dark money.”
Disclaimers on Political Ads
Any public communication promoting or attacking a federal candidate must carry a disclaimer identifying who paid for it, and the standard is the same across mediums: a voter should be able to tell at a glance who is behind the message.21eCFR. 11 CFR 110.11 – Communications; Advertising; Disclaimers Candidate-authorized ads on television must include an on-screen approval statement by the candidate. Radio ads require the candidate to personally deliver the approval in their own voice. Ads not authorized by a candidate must state the name of the person or committee responsible and include an address, phone number, or website.
Digital and social media ads follow a “clear and conspicuous” standard. Text-based online ads must display the disclaimer without requiring the viewer to click anything. Where a platform’s space limits make a full disclaimer impractical, an adapted version is allowed if it identifies the payor and provides a one-click way to see the full information.22Federal Election Commission. Advertising and Disclaimers
FEC Enforcement and Penalties
The Federal Election Commission enforces all of this. It has six commissioners appointed by the President, with no more than three from the same political party.23Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30106 – Federal Election Commission Any enforcement action needs at least four votes, and partisan deadlocks are common. The FEC issues advisory opinions on how the rules apply, conducts audits, and can pursue civil penalties or refer criminal matters to the Department of Justice.
Civil Penalties
Civil penalties depend on whether the violation was knowing and willful. For an ordinary violation, the ceiling is the greater of $24,885 or the amount of the contribution or expenditure involved. For a knowing and willful violation, the ceiling rises to the greater of $53,088 or 200 percent of the amount involved. The steepest fines apply to knowing and willful straw-donor violations (making contributions in someone else’s name), where penalties run from 300 percent to 1,000 percent of the amount involved, capped at the greater of $87,056 or 1,000 percent.24Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalties Annual Inflation Adjustments
Criminal Penalties
The most serious violations can be prosecuted criminally. A person who knowingly and willfully violates the law involving $25,000 or more in contributions, donations, or expenditures during a calendar year faces up to five years in prison. Violations involving between $2,000 and $25,000 carry up to one year.25Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30109 – Enforcement Straw-donor violations above $10,000 trigger enhanced penalties, including fines of at least 300 percent of the amount involved. Prosecutors have to prove the person acted knowingly and willfully, not just carelessly, so the criminal bar is high.
Criminal cases must be brought within five years of the date of the violation.26Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30145 – Period of Limitations Most enforcement matters, though, are resolved through a conciliation agreement with the FEC that includes an admission, an agreement to stop the conduct, and a civil penalty, rather than through litigation.