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Deborah D'Souza is the former news editor at Investopedia. She also writes articles that bring together information from across different financial fields.
Updated August 12, 2024 Reviewed by Reviewed by Robert C. KellyRobert Kelly is managing director of XTS Energy LLC, and has more than three decades of experience as a business executive. He is a professor of economics and has raised more than $4.5 billion in investment capital.
Running for office costs a lot of money. That's why candidates collect millions of dollars in contributions, as do the political action committees (PACs) established in their name. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, candidates in the 2020 presidential cycle drew almost $4 billion in donations.
But once the political campaign is over, the volunteers leave, the printers are turned off, and the buttons are put away, where does all that leftover money go? There are rules in place that dictate how many can be spent after a campaign concludes. Permitted uses include charitable donations and donations to other candidates; personal use is prohibited.
Candidate campaign committees are the official committees run by the candidate and their campaign team. The Federal Election Commission has rules in place to control how money raised by such committees is spent after a candidate bows out, or after an election is officially over.
The contributions can be used in the following ways:
Candidates are not allowed to use any remaining funds for personal use after all campaign-related debts are settled. Personal use is defined as “a commitment, obligation or expense of any person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s campaign or responsibilities as a federal officeholder.”
In other words, campaign funds may not be used for an expense that exists independent of the campaign. Expenses that are automatically considered personal use include:
Candidates who are unopposed are allowed to have a separate contribution limit.
The amount of money any individual can donate to a single candidate is capped. The Federal Election Campaign Act caps such contributions at $3,300 per election for the 2023-2024 federal election cycle.
One important point to note is that the primary election and general election count as two separate elections. This means that it is possible for someone to contribute $6,600 to a federal candidate—once during the primary and another time during the presidential campaign.
If a candidate receives contributions for a general election, but drops out of the race or loses the primary race beforehand, contributions must be refunded to individual donors within 60 days. Alternatively, the candidate can redesignate or redistribute their general election funds with the contributor's permission.
Ideally, contributions should not be lying around and should be spent as quickly as they come in to maximize the chances of the candidate winning. However, a super PAC can have money left if those at the helm were reluctant or inept.
“Where you see a lot of money left over in the super PAC after the candidate drops out, that will probably tell you something about how seriously the super PAC took the race, to begin with,” according to Robert Kelner, chair of the Election and Political Law Practice Group at the law firm Covington & Burling.
Super PACs cannot coordinate with a federal candidate or donate to a national political party committee. They can, however, continue to use the money to support the same candidate in other elections or another federal candidate in future elections. Although a super PAC's treasurer isn't legally obligated to refund any of the money to donors, they often do. In 2016, the Jeb Bush super PAC Right to Rise said it would refund $12 million to donors.
Politicians cannot keep any campaign funds for themselves. Contributions must be used during the campaign to pay for related expenses. They are not intended for personal use. Any money that is left over after a candidate drops out or once the election is over must be used to pay off debts. Funds can also be used for other purposes. For instance, a candidate may donate an unlimited amount to a federal, state, or local political committee, or they may be refunded to donors.
Candidate campaign committees can be refunded to donors after the candidate drops out. This must be done within 60 days. They may also redirect the funds elsewhere with the donor's permission. Some candidates may also choose to refund contributions to donors for moral or ethical reasons, or for legal purposes if a donor has exceeded the maximum allowable contribution.
All political organizations are subject to taxation under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, they may have filing requirements with the IRS. Donors who wish to make contributions to political campaigns should note that they do not count as charitable donations and, therefore, cannot be used to claim a tax deduction.
You cannot claim any campaign expenses for a political candidate as a deduction on your annual tax return. This means that anything you've spent out-of-pocket is not eligible from your gross income—even your time.
Political campaigns can raise millions and even billions of dollars through personal and business donations. This money can be used to pay for travel, administration, salaries, and any other campaign-related expenses. Candidates must keep diligent records of where the money comes from and how much is spent. But if a campaign ends (for whatever reason), it must find ways to disperse the funds. This includes spreading it out to other candidates, gifts, and refunds to donors. But candidates are prohibited from using these funds for personal use.
