§ 110.1 - Contributions by persons other than multicandidate political committees (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(1)).

§ 110.1 Contributions by persons other than multicandidate political committees (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(1)).

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 216, Jan. 2, 2024.

(a) Scope. This section applies to all contributions made by any person as defined in 11 CFR 100.10, except multicandidate political committees as defined in 11 CFR 100.5(e)(3) or entities and individuals prohibited from making contributions under 11 CFR 110.20 and 11 CFR parts 114 and 115.

(b) Contributions to candidates; designations; and redesignations.

(1) No person shall make contributions to any candidate, his or her authorized political committees or agents with respect to any election for Federal office that, in the aggregate, exceed $2,000.

(i) The contribution limitation in the introductory text of paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be increased by the percent difference in the price index in accordance with 11 CFR 110.17.

(ii) The increased contribution limitation shall be in effect for the 2-year period beginning on the first day following the date of the last general election in the year preceding the year in which the contribution limitation is increased and ending on the date of the next general election. For example, an increase in the contribution limitation made in January 2005 is effective from November 3, 2004 to November 7, 2006.

(iii) In every odd numbered year, the Commission will publish in the Federal Register the amount of the contribution limitation in effect and place such information on the Commission's Web site.

(2) For purposes of this section, with respect to any election means—

(i) In the case of a contribution designated in writing by the contributor for a particular election, the election so designated. Contributors to candidates are encouraged to designate their contributions in writing for particular elections. See 11 CFR 110.1(b)(4).

(ii) In the case of a contribution not designated in writing by the contributor for a particular election, the next election for that Federal office after the contribution is made.

(3)

(i) A contribution designated in writing for a particular election, but made after that election, shall be made only to the extent that the contribution does not exceed net debts outstanding from such election. To the extent that such contribution exceeds net debts outstanding, the candidate or the candidate's authorized political committee shall return or deposit the contribution within ten days from the date of the treasurer's receipt of the contribution as provided by 11 CFR 103.3(a), and if deposited, then within sixty days from the date of the treasurer's receipt the treasurer shall take the following action, as appropriate:

(A) Refund the contribution using a committee check or similar draft, including electronic transfer; or

(B) Obtain a written redesignation by the contributor for another election in accordance with 11 CFR 110.1(b)(5); or

(C) Obtain a written reattribution to another contributor in accordance with 11 CFR 110.1(k)(3).

If the candidate is not a candidate in the general election, all contributions made for the general election shall be either returned or refunded to the contributors or redesignated in accordance with 11 CFR 110.1(b)(5), or reattributed in accordance with 11 CFR 110.1(k)(3), as appropriate.

(ii) In order to determine whether there are net debts outstanding from a particular election, the treasurer of the candidate's authorized political committee shall calculate net debts outstanding as of the date of the election. For purposes of this section, net debts outstanding means the total amount of unpaid debts and obligations incurred with respect to an election, including the estimated cost of raising funds to liquidate debts incurred with respect to the election and, if the candidate's authorized committee terminates or if the candidate will not be a candidate for the next election, estimated necessary costs associated with termination of political activity, such as the costs of complying with the post-election requirements of the Act and other necessary administrative costs associated with winding down the campaign, including office space rental, staff salaries and office supplies, less the sum of:

(A) The total cash on hand available to pay those debts and obligations, including: currency; balances on deposit in banks, savings and loan institutions, and other depository institutions; traveler's checks; certificates of deposit; treasury bills; and any other committee investments valued at fair market value; and

(B) The total amounts owed to the candidate or political committee in the form of credits, refunds of deposits, returns, or receivables, or a commercially reasonable amount based on the collectibility of those credits, refunds, returns, or receivables.

(iii) The amount of the net debts outstanding shall be adjusted as additional funds are received and expenditures are made. The candidate and his or her authorized political committee(s) may accept contributions made after the date of the election if:

(A) Such contributions are designated in writing by the contributor for that election;

(B) Such contributions do not exceed the adjusted amount of net debts outstanding on the date the contribution is received; and

(C) Such contributions do not exceed the contribution limitations in effect on the date of such election.

(iv) This paragraph shall not be construed to prevent a candidate who is a candidate in the general election or his or her authorized political committee(s) from paying primary election debts and obligations with funds which represent contributions made with respect to the general election.

(4) For purposes of this section, a contribution shall be considered to be designated in writing for a particular election if—

(i) The contribution is made by check, money order, or other negotiable instrument which clearly indicates the particular election with respect to which the contribution is made;

(ii) The contribution is accompanied by a writing, signed by the contributor, which clearly indicates the particular election with respect to which the contribution is made; or

(iii) The contribution is redesignated in accordance with 11 CFR 110.1(b)(5).

(5)

(i) The treasurer of an authorized political committee may request a written redesignation of a contribution by the contributor for a different election if—

(A) The contribution was designated in writing for a particular election, and the contribution, either on its face or when aggregated with other contributions from the same contributor for the same election, exceeds the limitation on contributions set forth in 11 CFR 110.1(b)(1);

(B) The contribution was designated in writing for a particular election and the contribution was made after that election and the contribution cannot be accepted under the net debts outstanding provisions of 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3);

(C) The contribution was not designated in writing for a particular election, and the contribution exceeds the limitation on contributions set forth in 11 CFR 110.1(b)(1); or

(D) The contribution was not designated in writing for a particular election, and the contribution was received after the date of an election for which there are net debts outstanding on the date the contribution is received.

(ii)

(A) A contribution shall be considered to be redesignated for another election if—

(1) The treasurer of the recipient authorized political committee requests that the contributor provide a written redesignation of the contribution and informs the contributor that the contributor may request the refund of the contribution as an alternative to providing a written redesignation; and

(2) Within sixty days from the date of the treasurer's receipt of the contribution, the contributor provides the treasurer with a written redesignation of the contribution for another election, which is signed by the contributor.

(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(A) of this section or any other provision of this section, the treasurer of the recipient authorized political committee may treat all or part of the amount of the contribution that exceeds the contribution limits in paragraph (b)(1) of this section as made with respect to the general election, provided that:

(1) The contribution was made before the primary election;

(2) The contribution was not designated for a particular election;

(3) The contribution would exceed the limitation on contributions set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section if it were treated as a contribution made for the primary election;

(4) Such redesignation would not cause the contributor to exceed any of the limitations on contributions set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section;

(5) The treasurer of the recipient authorized political committee notifies the contributor of the amount of the contribution that was redesignated and that the contributor may request a refund of the contribution; and

(6) Within sixty days from the date of the treasurer's receipt of the contribution, the treasurer shall provide notification required in paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(B)(5) of this section to the contributor by any written method including electronic mail.

(C) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(A) of this section or any other provision of this section, the treasurer of the recipient authorized political committee may treat all or part of the amount of the contribution that exceeds the contribution limits in paragraph (b)(1) of this section as made with respect to the primary election, provided that:

(1) The contribution was made after the primary election but before the general election;

(2) The contribution was not designated for a particular election;

(3) The contribution would exceed the limitation on contributions set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section if it were treated as a contribution made for the general election;

(4) Such redesignation would not cause the contributor to exceed any of the limitations on contributions set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section;

(5) The contribution does not exceed the committee's net debts outstanding for the primary election;

(6) The treasurer of the recipient authorized political committee notifies the contributor of how the contribution was redesignated and that the contributor may request a refund of the contribution; and

(7) Within sixty days from the date of the treasurer's receipt of the contribution, the treasurer shall provide notification required in paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(C)(6) of this section to the contributor by any written method, including electronic mail.

(iii) A contribution redesignated for another election shall not exceed the limitations on contributions made with respect to that election. A contribution redesignated for a previous election shall be subject to the requirements of 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3) regarding net debts outstanding.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a contribution shall be considered to be made when the contributor relinquishes control over the contribution. A contributor shall be considered to relinquish control over the contribution when it is delivered by the contributor to the candidate, to the political committee, or to an agent of the political committee. A contribution that is mailed to the candidate, or to the political committee or to an agent of the political committee, shall be considered to be made on the date of the postmark. See 11 CFR 110.1(l)(4) A contribution made in an electronic transaction is considered to be made when the contributor authorizes the transaction. An in-kind contribution shall be considered to be made on the date that the goods or services are provided by the contributor.

(c) Contributions to political party committees.

(1) No person shall make contributions to the political committees established and maintained by a national political party in any calendar year that in the aggregate exceed $25,000.

(i) The contribution limitation in paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall be increased by the percent difference in the price index in accordance with 11 CFR 110.17.

(ii) The increased contribution limitation shall be in effect for the two calendar years starting on January 1 of the year in which the contribution limitation is increased.

(iii) In every odd-numbered year, the Commission will publish in the Federal Register the amount of the contribution limitation in effect and place such information on the Commission's Web sitewebsite.

(2) For purposes of this section, political committees established and maintained by a national political party means—

(i) The national committee;

(ii) The House campaign committee; and

(iii) The Senate campaign committee.

(3) Each recipient committee referred to in 11 CFR 110.1(c)(2) may receive up to the $25,000 limitation from a contributor.

(4) The recipient committee shall not be an authorized political committee of any candidate, except as provided in 11 CFR 9002.1(c).

(5) On or after January 1, 2003, no person shall make contributions to a political committee established and maintained by a State committee of a political party in any calendar year that, in the aggregate, exceed $10,000.

(d) Contributions to other political committees. No person shall make contributions to any other political committee in any calendar year which, in the aggregate, exceed $5,000.

(e) Contributions by partnerships. A contribution by a partnership shall be attributed to the partnership and to each partner—

(1) In direct proportion to his or her share of the partnership profits, according to instructions which shall be provided by the partnership to the political committee or candidate; or

(2) By agreement of the partners, as long as—

(i) Only the profits of the partners to whom the contribution is attributed are reduced (or losses increased), and

(ii) These partners' profits are reduced (or losses increased) in proportion to the contribution attributed to each of them.

A contribution by a partnership shall not exceed the limitations on contributions in 11 CFR 110.1 (b), (c), and (d). No portion of such contribution may be made from the profits of a corporation that is a partner.

(f) Contributions to candidates for more than one Federal office. If an individual is a candidate for more than one Federal office, a person may make contributions which do not exceed $2,000 to the candidate, or his or her authorized political committees for each election for each office, as long as—

(1) Each contribution is designated in writing by the contributor for a particular office;

(2) The candidate maintains separate campaign organizations, including separate principal campaign committees and separate accounts; and

(3) No principal campaign committee or other authorized political committee of that candidate for one election for one Federal office transfers funds to, loans funds to, makes contributions to, or makes expenditures on behalf of another principal campaign committee or other authorized political committee of that candidate for another election for another Federal office, except as provided in 11 CFR 110.3(c)(4).

(g) Contributions by limited liability companies (“LLC”) —

(1) Definition. A limited liability company is a business entity that is recognized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State in which it is established.

(2) A contribution by an LLC that elects to be treated as a partnership by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to 26 CFR 301.7701–3, or does not elect treatment as either a partnership or a corporation pursuant to that section, shall be considered a contribution from a partnership pursuant to 11 CFR 110.1(e).

(3) An LLC that elects to be treated as a corporation by the Internal Revenue Service, pursuant to 26 CFR 301.7701–3, or an LLC with publicly-traded shares, shall be considered a corporation pursuant to 11 CFR Part 114.

(4) A contribution by an LLC with a single natural person member that does not elect to be treated as a corporation by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to 26 CFR 301.7701–3 shall be attributed only to that single member.

(5) An LLC that makes a contribution pursuant to paragraph (g)(2) or (g)(4) of this section shall, at the time it makes the contribution, provide information to the recipient committee as to how the contribution is to be attributed, and affirm to the recipient committee that it is eligible to make the contribution.

(h) Contributions to committees supporting the same candidate. A person may contribute to a candidate or his or her authorized committee with respect to a particular election and also contribute to a political committee which has supported, or anticipates supporting, the same candidate in the same election, as long as—

(1) The political committee is not the candidate's principal campaign committee or other authorized political committee or a single candidate committee;

(2) The contributor does not give with the knowledge that a substantial portion will be contributed to, or expended on behalf of, that candidate for the same election; and

(3) The contributor does not retain control over the funds.

(i) Contributions by spouses. The limitations on contributions of this section shall apply separately to contributions made by each spouse even if only one spouse has income.

(j) Application of limitations to elections.

(1) The limitations on contributions of this section shall apply separately with respect to each election as defined in 11 CFR 100.2, except that all elections held in a calendar year for the office of President of the United States (except a general election for that office) shall be considered to be one election.

(2) An election in which a candidate is unopposed is a separate election for the purposes of the limitations on contributions of this section.

(3) A primary or general election which is not held because a candidate is unopposed or received a majority of votes in a previous election is a separate election for the purposes of the limitations on contributions of this section. The date on which the election would have been held shall be considered to be the date of the election.

(4) A primary election which is not held because a candidate was nominated by a caucus or convention with authority to nominate is not a separate election for the purposes of the limitations on contributions of this section.

(k) Joint contributions and reattributions.

(1) Any contribution made by more than one person, except for a contribution made by a partnership, shall include be indicated by the signature of each contributor on the check, money order, or other negotiable instrument or in a separate writing.

(2) If a contribution made by more than one person does not indicate the amount to be attributed to each contributor, the contribution shall be attributed equally to each contributor.

(3)

(i) If a contribution to a candidate or political committee, either on its face or when aggregated with other contributions from the same contributor, exceeds the limitations on contributions set forth in 11 CFR 110.1 (b), (c) or (d), as appropriate, the treasurer of the recipient political committee may ask the contributor whether the contribution was intended to be a joint contribution by more than one person.

(ii)

(A) A contribution shall be considered to be reattributed to another contributor if—

(1) The treasurer of the recipient political committee asks the contributor whether the contribution is intended to be a joint contribution by more than one person, and informs the contributor that he or she may request the return of the excessive portion of the contribution if it is not intended to be a joint contribution; and

(2) Within sixty days from the date of the treasurer's receipt of the contribution, the contributor provides the treasurer with a written reattribution of the contribution, which is signed by each contributor, and which indicates the amount to be attributed to each contributor if equal attribution is not intended.

(B)

(1) Notwithstanding paragraph (k)(3)(ii)(A) of this section or any other provision of this section, any excessive portion of a contribution described in paragraph (k)(3)(i) of this section that was made by a written instrument that is imprinted with the names of more than one individual may be attributed among the individuals listed unless a different instruction is on the instrument or in a separate writing signed by the contributor(s), provided that such attribution would not cause any contributor to exceed any of the limitations on contributions set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(2) The treasurer of the recipient political committee shall notify each contributor of how the contribution was attributed and that the contributor may request the refund of the excessive portion of the contribution if it is not intended to be a joint contribution.

(3) Within sixty days from the date of the treasurer's receipt of the contribution, the treasurer shall provide such notification to each contributor by any written method, including electronic mail.

(l) Supporting evidence.

(1) If a political committee receives a contribution designated in writing for a particular election, the treasurer shall retain a copy record of the written designation, as required by 11 CFR 110.1(b)(4) or 110.2(b)(4), as appropriate. If the written designation is made on a check or other written instrument, the treasurer shall retain a full-size photocopy of the check or written record that contains a complete image of that instrument.

(2) If a political committee receives a written redesignation of a contribution for a different election, the treasurer shall retain the written redesignation provided by the contributor, as required by 11 CFR 110.1(b)(5) or 110.2(b)(5), as appropriate.

(3) If a political committee receives a written reattribution of a contribution to a different contributor, the treasurer shall retain the written reattribution signed by each contributor, as required by 11 CFR 110.1(k).

(4)

(i) If a political committee chooses to rely on a postmark as evidence of the date on which a contribution was made, the treasurer shall retain the envelope or a copy record of the envelope containing the postmark and other identifying information; and

(ii) If a political committee chooses to rely on the redesignation presumption in 11 CFR 110.1(b)(5)(ii)(B) or (C) or the reattribution presumption in 11 CFR 110.1(k)(3)(ii)(B), the treasurer shall retain a full-size photocopy record that contains a complete image of the check or written instrument, of any signed writings that accompanied the contribution, and of the notices sent to the contributors as required by 11 CFR 110.1(b)(5)(ii)(B) and (k)(3)(ii)(B).

(5) If a political committee does not retain the written records concerning designation required under 11 CFR 110.1(l)(1), the contribution shall not be considered designated in writing for a particular election, and the provisions of 11 CFR 110.1(b)(2)(ii) or 11 CFR 110.2(b)(2)(ii) shall apply. If a political committee does not retain the written records concerning redesignation or reattribution required under 11 CFR 110.1(l)(2), (3), (4)(ii) or (6), including the contributor notices, the redesignation or reattribution shall not be effective, and the original designation or attribution shall control.

(6) For each written redesignation or written reattribution of a contribution described in paragraph (b)(5) or paragraph (k)(3) of this section, the political committee shall retain documentation a record demonstrating when the written redesignation or written reattribution was received. Such documentation a record shall consist of:

(i) A copy record of the envelope bearing the postmark and the contributor's name, or return address or other identifying code; or

(ii) A copy record of the written redesignation or written reattribution with a date stamp indicating the date of the committee's receipt; or

(iii) A copy record of the written redesignation or written reattribution dated by the contributor.

(m) Contributions to delegates and delegate committees.

(1) Contributions to delegates for the purpose of furthering their selection under 11 CFR 110.14 are not subject to the limitations of this section.

(2) Contributions to delegate committees under 11 CFR 110.14 are subject to the limitations of this section.

(n) Contributions to committees making independent expenditures. The limitations on contributions of this section also apply to contributions made to political committees making independent expenditures under 11 CFR Part 109.

[52 FR 769, Jan. 9, 1987]

Editorial Note

Editorial Note:

For Federal Register citations affecting § 110.1, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.