Contributions to federal candidates and committees are limited under the law. You, as the contributor, and the committee to which you give, are both legally responsible for making sure that your contribution does not exceed legal limits.
Individual limits are as follows, according to the Federal Elections Commission Citizens Guide Brochure. An individual may give a maximum of:
- $2,500 to a federal candidate or the candidate’s campaign committee (per election). Notice that the limit applies separately to each election. Primaries, runoffs and general elections are considered separate elections. Accordingly, you could contribute $2,500 for the entire presidential primary campaign period and another $2,500 for the general election.
- $5,000 to a PAC (per calendar year). This limit applies to a PAC that supports federal candidates. PACs use your contributions to make their own contributions to federal candidates and to fund other election-related activities. Trade, industry and labor PACs are sponsored by corporations and unions. Ideological PACs, also called nonconnected PACs, do not have a corporate or labor sponsor. PACs are not party or candidate committees.
- $30,800 to a national party committee (per calendar year). This limit applies separately to a party’s national committee, House campaign committee and Senate campaign committee.
- $10,000 to a state or local party committee (per calendar year). A state party committee shares its limits with local party committees in that state unless a local committee’s independence can be demonstrated.
- $117,000 total biennial (two-year) limit. This biennial limit places a ceiling on your total contributions to federal candidates and political committees, including:
- Max $100 in cash to any political committee (anonymous cash contributions cannot exceed $50); contributions exceeding $100 must be made by check, money order or other written instrument
- Max $46,200 to candidates
- Max $70,800 to all PACs and parties
Here are some additional tips:
Joint contributions: If two or more individuals want to make a contribution using one check drawn on a joint account, all the contributors must sign the check or an attached statement. The check or signed statement must show how much should be attributed to each donor, unless the contribution is to be equally divided among the contributors.
A husband and wife each have separate contribution limits, even if only one spouse has an income. For example, a couple may contribute a $5,000 check to a candidate’s primary campaign as long as both sign the check (or an attached statement), as explained above.
Designate which election you are contributing to: The Federal Election Commission encourages contributors to designate the election for each contribution. By doing this, you will avoid any confusion as to which election limit applies to your contribution. To designate a contribution, write the name of the specific election on your check (or other written instrument). You may also attach a signed statement with the same information.
If you do not designate a contribution to a candidate, your contribution automatically applies to your $2,500 limit for the candidate’s next election. In other words, if you make an undesignated contribution after the candidate has won the primary but before the general election, your contribution counts against your $2,500 limit for the general. Similarly, if you make an undesignated contribution after the general election, it automatically applies toward the limit for the next election in which the candidate runs for Federal office.
If, however, you want a contribution to count against your limit for an election other than the candidate’s upcoming election, you must designate the contribution. For example, suppose you want your contribution to count against the candidate’s general election, even though the primary has not yet taken place. In this case, you must designate the contribution for the general. Or, if you want to help a candidate retire campaign debts for a past election, you must designate your contribution for that specific election.
Under certain circumstances, if you make an excessive contribution to a candidate committee, the committee may redesignate your contribution. When this occurs, the committee must notify you within 60 days, and must offer you the opportunity to receive a refund instead.
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Companies and individuals, on the other hand, can make unlimited donations to a presidential candidate through a Super PAC.
Super PACs are a new kind of political action committee created in July 2010 following the outcome of a federal court case known as SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission. Technically known as independent expenditure-only committees, Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for, or against, political candidates. Super PACs must, however, report their donors to the Federal Election Commission on a monthly or quarterly basis – how often is the choice of the Super PAC – as a traditional PAC would. Unlike traditional PACs, however, Super PACs are prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates.
Many maxed-out donors to President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney are opting to contribute to such Super PACs.
Coauthor: Lila A. Jaber
This post is for general information only. It is not legal advice, and legal counsel should be contacted before any action is taken that might be influenced by this information.
