For the 2025–2026 election cycle, a private citizen can donate up to $3,500 per election to a federal candidate’s campaign, which works out to $7,000 total if you give to the same candidate for both the primary and the general. Separate, higher limits apply to national parties, state parties, and traditional PACs, and there is no cap on what you can give to a Super PAC. The Federal Election Commission adjusts most of these numbers for inflation every two years, so they shift each cycle.
Federal Contribution Limits for 2025–2026
These are the current caps for an individual donor, drawn from the FEC’s official chart for the cycle:1Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-20262Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026 (Chart)
- Federal candidate committee: $3,500 per election. Primaries and general elections count separately, so a single candidate can receive up to $7,000 from you across both.
- National party committee (main account): $44,300 per calendar year.
- National party special accounts (presidential nominating conventions, election recounts and legal proceedings, and party headquarters buildings): $132,900 per calendar year per account. Each of these accounts is capped at 300 percent of the regular national party limit.
- State, district, or local party committees: $10,000 per calendar year, combined across all such committees.
- Traditional PAC: $5,000 per calendar year.
- Super PAC (independent expenditure-only committee): no limit. These committees can accept unlimited money from individuals, corporations, and unions because they never give directly to candidates or parties.
How the Per-Election Limit Actually Works
The $3,500 candidate cap resets for each separate election that candidate enters.3Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits A primary, a general, a runoff, and a special election each carry their own fresh limit. If a candidate wins a primary and then faces a runoff before the general, you could legally give $3,500 three times to the same person in one cycle. A special election can bring its own primary and runoff, each with a new limit on top of that.
Party committee and PAC limits work differently. Those run on the calendar year and reset every January 1, not per election.2Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2025-2026 (Chart)
Spouses and Household Contributions
Each spouse has an independent limit. If both of you want to support the same candidate, you can each give $3,500 per election. A check drawn on a joint account is fine so long as each person’s share is clearly attributed. Between the two of you, the household can put $7,000 into one candidate’s primary and another $7,000 into the general without either spouse touching their limit for anyone else.
Contributions by Minors
People under 18 can donate, but only if the decision is genuinely theirs, the money is theirs (earned income, funds from an account in their name, or trust proceeds), and the money was not given to them for the purpose of making the donation.4eCFR. 11 CFR 110.19 – Contributions by Minors A parent cannot hand a child $3,500 and direct them to write a check to a campaign.
Goods and Services Count as Contributions Too
Contributions are not limited to cash. Donating goods, services, or anything of value to a campaign is an in-kind contribution, valued at fair market value on the date received, and it counts against your dollar limit the same as a check.5eCFR. 11 CFR 104.13 – Disclosure of Receipt and Consumption of In-Kind Contributions Letting a campaign use your office, lending a staff member, paying a printer’s bill for them, hosting a fundraiser and covering the food: all of it counts. If the market value of what you provided pushes your total past $3,500 for that election, you have exceeded the limit whether or not any cash changed hands.
State and Local Races Follow Different Rules
State-level campaigns operate under completely separate rules from federal elections, and the variation is wide. Individual limits to state candidates range from a few hundred dollars to no cap at all. Roughly a dozen states allow unlimited individual contributions to state candidates; the rest impose caps that generally scale with the office, with gubernatorial races usually permitting more than state legislative ones. Some states reset limits per election, others per cycle, others per calendar year. Municipal races sometimes add another layer on top. If you want to give to a state or local candidate, check with that state’s election commission or secretary of state.
Contributions That Are Illegal at Any Amount
Some contributions are prohibited regardless of size, and several carry criminal exposure rather than just civil penalties.
Foreign Nationals
Foreign nationals cannot contribute to any federal, state, or local election in the United States. The ban covers money, goods, services, anything of value, and even promises to contribute. Soliciting or accepting such a contribution is equally illegal.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30121 – Contributions and Donations by Foreign Nationals
Contributions in Someone Else’s Name
Giving in another person’s name, or letting your name be used to disguise someone else’s contribution, is illegal. So is knowingly accepting one. This is a favored method for evading contribution limits and one the FEC and Justice Department pursue aggressively.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30122 – Contributions in Name of Another Prohibited
Corporations and Unions
Corporations and labor organizations cannot contribute directly to federal candidates or spend in connection with federal elections. They can establish a separate PAC funded by voluntary contributions from employees or members, and that PAC can then give to candidates within normal PAC limits.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30118 – Contributions or Expenditures by National Banks, Corporations, or Labor Organizations
Federal Contractors
If you hold a federal contract, you cannot contribute to federal candidates, party committees, or any person for a political purpose while that contract is in effect. The restriction covers federal elections only; state and local contributions are not caught by this ban.9eCFR. 11 CFR 115.2 – Prohibition
Cash Over $100
Cash contributions to a federal candidate cannot exceed $100 in the aggregate for a single campaign. Larger amounts have to move by check, money order, credit card, or another traceable method.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30123 – Limitation on Contribution of Currency
Penalties for Going Over the Limits
Civil penalties handled by the FEC are the common outcome for smaller or inadvertent violations. Criminal exposure begins when the violation is knowing and willful:11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30109 – Enforcement
- $2,000 to $24,999 in illegal contributions during a calendar year: up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.
- $25,000 or more in a calendar year: up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
- Straw donor violations over $10,000: up to two years if the amount is under $25,000, plus a fine of at least 300 percent of the amount involved. Amounts of $25,000 or more fall under the five-year maximum.
Political Donations Are Not Tax Deductible
Contributions to campaigns, parties, PACs, or individual candidates cannot be deducted on your federal income tax return. The IRS lists political organizations and candidates among the recipients whose contributions do not qualify as charitable deductions, and this holds regardless of amount or the tax status of the recipient organization.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 – Charitable Contributions Political giving is not a tax-planning tool.