Federal campaign finance laws set the rules for how money enters and leaves campaigns for federal office. They cap what individuals and committees can give, ban money from certain sources entirely, require public disclosure of donors and spending, restrict how campaign funds can be used, and give the Federal Election Commission authority to impose civil penalties and refer serious cases for criminal prosecution. For the 2025–2026 cycle, an individual can give up to $3,500 per election to a federal candidate, and most limits adjust for inflation every two years.
Contribution Limits for 2025–2026
The base limits are set by statute and adjusted upward in odd-numbered years to track inflation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30116 – Limitations on Contributions and Expenditures For the current cycle, the numbers to know are:
- $3,500 per election to a federal candidate. The primary and general count separately, so a single donor can give a candidate $7,000 across one election year.
- $44,300 per calendar year to each national party committee. The DNC, the RNC, and each party’s Senate and House campaign arms are treated as separate committees, each with its own cap.
- $10,000 per year combined to state, district, and local party committees within a single state.
- $5,000 per year to a traditional PAC.
These figures come from the FEC’s schedule published at the start of the cycle.2Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026 Some caps, like the $5,000 that a multicandidate PAC can give a candidate per election, aren’t indexed and stay put until Congress changes them.3Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits Chart 2025-2026
Who Cannot Give at All
Some sources of money are banned from federal campaigns no matter the amount.
Corporations and Unions
Corporations and labor unions cannot use general treasury funds to contribute directly to federal candidates or party committees.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30118 – Contributions or Expenditures by National Banks, Corporations, or Labor Organizations They can set up a separate segregated fund, essentially a PAC, that collects voluntary contributions from employees, shareholders, or union members. The treasury pays the PAC’s administrative costs, but every dollar going to a candidate has to come from an individual who opted in.
Federal Contractors
Anyone holding a federal contract funded even partly by congressional appropriations cannot contribute to a party, committee, or candidate while the contract is active. The ban runs from the start of negotiations through completion of the work or termination of negotiations, whichever comes later, and it also prohibits soliciting contributions from contractors during that window.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30119 – Contributions by Government Contractors
Foreign Nationals
Foreign nationals cannot contribute, donate, or spend money in connection with any election, whether federal, state, or local. The ban applies to individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents, to foreign governments, and to foreign-incorporated entities. Soliciting or accepting a contribution from a foreign national is separately prohibited.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30121 – Contributions and Donations by Foreign Nationals
LLCs and Partnerships
An LLC’s treatment depends on how it files taxes. One that files as a corporation is treated as a corporation and cannot contribute from its own funds. One that files as a partnership, or has made no tax election, is treated as a partnership: the contribution is attributed to individual partners based on their share of profits, and each partner’s share counts against that partner’s personal limit.7Federal Election Commission. Partnership and LLC Contributions The partnership must send the recipient committee a written notice listing which partners the money is attributed to and in what amounts. A partner’s spouse cannot be listed unless the spouse is also a member of the partnership.
PACs, Super PACs, and the Coordination Line
A political committee that receives contributions or makes expenditures over $1,000 in a calendar year must register with the FEC. Once it has been registered at least six months, taken contributions from at least 51 people, and given to at least five federal candidates, it becomes a multicandidate committee and can give up to $5,000 per candidate per election.8Federal Election Commission. Qualifying as a Multicandidate Committee Before reaching that status, its per-candidate cap matches the individual limit of $3,500 per election.
Super PACs, formally called independent-expenditure-only committees, can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, and unions. The framework rests on two 2010 decisions: the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, which held that independent political spending by corporations and unions is protected speech, and the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in SpeechNow.org v. FEC, which extended that reasoning to strike down contribution limits on groups that spend only independently.9Congress.gov. PACs and Super PACs in Federal Election Campaigns The tradeoff is strict. A Super PAC cannot give any money directly to a candidate, and it cannot coordinate its spending with a campaign.
An independent expenditure is spending on a communication that expressly advocates for a candidate’s election or defeat and is made without coordination.10Federal Election Commission. Understanding Independent Expenditures If it turns out to be coordinated, it converts into an in-kind contribution and counts against the donor’s contribution limit.
The FEC uses a three-part test for coordination, and all three prongs must be satisfied:
- Payment: someone other than the candidate’s campaign or party committee paid for the communication.
- Content: the communication refers to a clearly identified federal candidate within certain pre-election timeframes, expressly advocates for or against a candidate, or qualifies as an electioneering communication.
- Conduct: the payer interacted with the campaign in a way that compromised independence, such as creating the ad at the campaign’s request, taking material direction from the campaign on content or timing, receiving campaign strategy in substantial discussions, or sharing a vendor with inside knowledge of the campaign’s plans.11Federal Election Commission. Coordinated Communications
Shared vendors are the most common accidental path to coordination. If a Super PAC hires the same media firm that handles a candidate’s advertising and that firm’s staff have access to the campaign’s strategy, the conduct prong is likely met. Campaigns and outside groups that want to stay clean generally use separate vendors or set up formal information barriers.
Disclosure of Donors and Spending
Political committees must report every contribution received and every expenditure made. For any individual whose contributions to a committee cross $200 in a calendar year, the committee has to disclose the person’s full name, mailing address, occupation, and employer.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30104 – Reporting Requirements Each expenditure must be documented with a date, amount, payee, and purpose.
In-kind contributions (goods or services donated instead of cash) get valued at the usual market rate and reported as both a receipt and a disbursement so the committee’s cash-on-hand stays accurate. They count against the donor’s contribution limit the same way cash does.13Federal Election Commission. In-Kind Contributions Reports are filed on schedules the FEC publishes for each cycle, with separate calendars for quarterly and monthly filers.14Federal Election Commission. Dates and Deadlines Once submitted, they are posted to a searchable public database.
Ad Disclaimers
Every paid political communication must include a disclaimer identifying who paid for it and whether a candidate authorized it. The rule covers television, radio, print, direct mail, and paid digital ads on websites and social media.15Federal Election Commission. Advertising and Disclaimers When no candidate authorized the ad, the disclaimer has to name the paying organization in full, list a permanent street address, phone number, or website, and state clearly that no candidate authorized it.16Federal Election Commission. Basic Rules for Disclaimers on Radio and TV Ads Disclaimers must be clear and conspicuous, not buried in fine print, flashed too briefly to read, or spoken too fast to follow.
How Campaign Money Can Be Spent
Campaign funds cannot cover any cost that would exist whether or not the person were running. The FEC calls this the irrespective test. Prohibited personal uses include:17Federal Election Commission. Personal Use
- Mortgage, rent, and utilities for the candidate’s home, even if part of it doubles as a campaign office.
- New clothing for political events. Campaign-branded T-shirts and hats are fine.
- College or graduate tuition, unless the training directly relates to campaign staff duties.
- Concert, sports, and theater tickets.
- Country club, health club, or recreational memberships, unless a specific fundraising event happens on the premises.
- Household groceries and family funeral costs.
After an election, leftover funds can be transferred without limit to a national, state, or local party committee, donated to charity if the candidate doesn’t personally benefit, given to state and local candidates under applicable state law, or used for any other lawful non-personal purpose.18Federal Election Commission. Winding Down Costs A retiring officeholder can use campaign funds to cover moving expenses from Washington back home. Charitable donations from a campaign account are reported under Other Disbursements, and any single donation over $200 to one organization must be itemized.19Federal Election Commission. Charitable Donations What candidates cannot do is pocket the money. Converting leftover funds to personal use is prohibited the same way it is during the campaign.
Penalties for Violations
The FEC learns of possible violations through its own review of filed reports, sworn complaints from members of the public, referrals from other agencies, and voluntary self-reporting.20Federal Election Commission. Enforcing Federal Campaign Finance Law It has exclusive civil enforcement authority.
For a standard violation, the FEC can negotiate a civil penalty of up to the greater of $5,000 or the amount of the contribution or expenditure involved. If the violation was knowing and willful, the ceiling becomes the greater of $10,000 or 200 percent of the amount involved.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30109 – Enforcement Late or missing disclosure reports feed into a separate administrative fine program; committees receiving a “reason to believe” finding have 40 days to pay or challenge in writing, and unpaid fines can be sent to the Treasury for collection with a 30 percent add-on.22Federal Election Commission. Administrative Fines
Criminal exposure kicks in for knowing and willful conduct at higher dollar levels. Violations involving contributions, donations, or expenditures aggregating $25,000 or more in a calendar year can carry up to five years in prison. Violations in the $2,000 to $25,000 range carry up to one year. Most campaign finance cases resolve through civil conciliation; criminal referrals tend to involve deliberate schemes to funnel illegal money or evade disclosure.
Getting a Ruling Before You Act
Anyone unsure whether a planned activity complies with the law can ask the FEC for a formal advisory opinion. The request goes in writing to the Office of General Counsel and must describe the specific facts. Within 10 days the office decides whether the request is complete enough to process. Accepted requests get a number, are made public, and open for comment for 10 days, after which the Commission takes up a draft response at a public meeting where the requester can appear and answer questions.23Federal Election Commission. The Advisory Opinion Process Relying in good faith on an advisory opinion provides legal protection if the FEC later shifts its interpretation.