Title 52 › Subtitle Subtitle III— Federal Campaign Finance › Chapter 301— FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS › Subchapter I— DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FUNDS › § 30116
Sets caps on how much people, political committees, and parties can give or spend in federal elections. A person may give at most $2,000 to a candidate for any single election, $25,000 per year to national party committees (or up to 300% of that limit for certain party accounts), $5,000 per year to most other political committees, and $10,000 per year to a State party committee. Multicandidate committees (see below) may give up to $5,000 per candidate per election, $15,000 per year to national party committees (or up to 300% for certain accounts), and $5,000 per year to other committees. Over the two-year period that starts Jan 1 of an odd-numbered year and ends Dec 31 of the next even-numbered year, an individual may give no more than $37,500 to candidates and authorized candidate committees and no more than $57,500 in total to other committees (with no more than $37,500 of that $57,500 going to non-national-party political committees). Some transfers among party committees of the same party are allowed. Candidates who take public money for President are limited to $10,000,000 for the nomination campaign (with a per-state cap of either 16 cents times the state voting age population or $200,000, whichever is larger) and $20,000,000 for the general election. National and State party committees may make coordinated expenditures for general elections but those are capped (for national committees, presidential coordinated spending is limited to 2 cents times the U.S. voting age population; Senate and House coordinated limits are set by 2 cents times state voting age population or fixed dollar amounts). Party committees may contribute up to $35,000 to a Senate candidate in the election year. Key terms and other rules in one line each: multicandidate political committee — a committee registered 6+ months, with contributions from more than 50 people, and (except state party groups) that has given to 5+ federal candidates; price index — the Consumer Price Index used to raise limits for inflation; base period — 1974 for some rules and 2001 for others; voting age population — residents 18 or older; opposition personal funds amount — how much more an opponent spends of personal money than the candidate; threshold amount — $150,000 plus $0.04 times the voting age population; special party accounts — certain national party accounts for conventions, headquarters, or recount/legal costs (the convention account is capped at $20,000,000). Coordinated spending with a candidate counts as a contribution to that candidate. Any contribution routed through an intermediary must report the original source and intended recipient. Many limits are adjusted for inflation under the Consumer Price Index, some only in odd-numbered years. Candidates and committees must not knowingly accept or make contributions or expenditures that break these limits. If a Senate candidate uses higher limits because an opponent spent large personal funds, excess contributions not used must be returned within 50 days of the election. A candidate who takes personal loans after the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 cannot repay amounts over $250,000 of those loans with post‑election contributions.
Full Legal Text
Voting and Elections — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
52 U.S.C. § 30116
Title 52 — Voting and Elections
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60