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Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§9035 Qualified Campaign Expense Limitations

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle H— Financing of Presidential Election Campaigns › Chapter 96— PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY MATCHING PAYMENT ACCOUNT › § 9035

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A presidential primary candidate who accepts public matching funds cannot knowingly spend more on the campaign than the spending cap set by the Federal Election Campaign Act. The candidate also cannot knowingly spend more than $50,000 total of personal money, or money from immediate family, on the race. Immediate family means the candidate's spouse, children, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, half-siblings, and their spouses.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §9035

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)No candidate shall knowingly incur qualified campaign expenses in excess of the expenditure limitation applicable under section 315(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and no candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his personal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, in connection with his campaign for nomination for election to the office of President in excess of, in the aggregate, $50,000.
(b)For purposes of this section, the term “immediate family” means a candidate’s spouse, and any child, parent, grandparent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sister of the candidate, and the spouses of such persons.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 315 of The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, referred to in subsec. (a), is classified to section 30116 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–295 substituted “section 315(b)(1)(A)” for “section 320(b)(1)(A)”. 1976—Pub. L. 94–283 substituted “limitations” for “limitation” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted “Expenditure limitations” as heading of subsec. (a) as so redesignated and substituted “section 320(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and no candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his personal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, in connection with his campaign for nomination for election to the office of President in excess of, in the aggregate, $50,000” for “section 608(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code”, and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1976 Amendment Pub. L. 94–283, title III, § 305(d),
May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 499, as amended by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, provided that: “For purposes of applying section 9035(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954], as amended by subsection (a), expenditures made by an individual after
January 29, 1976, and before the date of the enactment of this Act [
May 11, 1976] shall not be taken into account.”

Effective Date

Section applicable with respect to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1974, see section 410(c)(1) of Pub. L. 93–443, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1974 Amendment note under section 30101 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 9035

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73