Federal Campaign Contribution Limits for 2025–26

Last updated October 29, 2026

Federal contribution limits are set by law and published by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). For 2025–2026, an individual can give a federal candidate committee up to $3,500 per election. Here’s the rest of the FEC chart, and the rules that trip up claims about it.

Limits for individual donors, 2025–26

The FEC marks the candidate, national party and additional-account limits for individuals as indexed for inflation in odd-numbered years, which is why they change from one two-year cycle to the next.

Other donors

• Candidate committees can give another candidate committee $2,000 per election and a PAC $5,000 per year, with unlimited transfers to party committees.
• Multicandidate PACs can give $5,000 per election to a candidate, $5,000 per year to another PAC, $5,000 per year (combined) to state/local parties, $15,000 per year to a national party and $45,000 per account, per year to additional national party accounts.
• Nonmulticandidate PACs have the same limits as individuals.
• Party committees: state/district/local parties can give $5,000 per election (combined) to a candidate; national parties $5,000 per election, with additional rules the FEC footnotes.

What “per election” means

The FEC says a primary, general, runoff and special election are each a separate election with a separate limit. So a donor can give a candidate $3,500 for the primary and another $3,500 for the general. For presidential campaigns, all presidential primaries in a calendar year count as one election.

Super PACs are different

The FEC notes that independent-expenditure-only political committees, sometimes called “Super PACs,” may accept unlimited contributions. Its “PAC” limits above refer to committees that make contributions to other federal political committees. Claims that “there are no limits” or that “everyone is limited to $3,500” can both be misleading depending on which kind of committee is meant.

Checklist for contribution claims

1. Which cycle (limits change in odd-numbered years)?
2. Who is giving, and to which kind of committee?
3. Per election, per year, or per account?
4. Is the recipient a Super PAC?

See our worked example: “You can give a federal candidate up to $3,500 per election in 2025–2026.”

Reading the FEC chart correctly

The FEC chart is a grid: donors down the side (individual, candidate committee, multicandidate PAC, nonmulticandidate PAC, state/local party, national party) and recipients across the top. Each cell is a separate limit with its own period. For example, an individual’s limit to a national party committee ($44,300) is per year, while the limit to a candidate ($3,500) is per election. The FEC marks several of the individual and nonmulticandidate PAC limits with an asterisk as indexed for inflation in odd-numbered years, which is why a figure from an earlier cycle can be out of date.

Transfers between a candidate committee and party committees are listed as unlimited, and so are transfers among party committees. That’s a different thing from a contribution by an outside donor, so it’s worth checking which kind of money a claim is about.

Sources

• FEC: Contribution limits. Checked October 29, 2026.

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Last updated October 29, 2026. Facts checked October 29, 2026 against the official sources linked above. EvenFacts is independent and isn’t affiliated with any government agency, party or candidate. This explainer is general information, not legal or financial advice, and it doesn’t take a side.