This week, the Federal Election Commission announced a series of increases in campaign contribution limits for 2015-2016, as part of its routine two-year cycle of adjustments for inflation.
The changes are as follows:
| Type of Contribution | New Limit | Previous Limit |
| Contributions by individuals to candidates |
$2,700 per candidate per election ($5,400 maximum for primary and general election combined) | $2,600 per candidate per election ($5,200 maximum for primary and general election combined) |
| Contributions by individuals to national party committees | $33,400 per calendar year ($801,600 maximum aggregate contribution limit for all of a party’s national party committees) | $32,400 per calendar year ($777,600 maximum aggregate contribution limit for all of a party’s national party committees) |
Sources: FEC and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
“The inflation adjustments don’t move the needle standing alone,” says Kenneth Gross, partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, but they are particularly notable because “they are built on the eye-popping increases to the party committee limits contained in the December omnibus legislation.
“An individual may give over $800,000 a year to various accounts of a national party committee of his or her choice,” he says. “A multicandidate PAC’s limit to national party committee accounts is $360,000 per year.”
Click here for a more detailed chart from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, spelling out the new caps for individual contributions to candidates, PACs and various committees, as well as multicandidate PAC limits.
The FEC also raised the threshold for lobbyist bundling disclosures to $17,600 from $17,300, as part of its standard annual adjustment of that threshold for inflation. (Click here for an FAQ from the FEC on lobbyist bundling disclosures and who must report under those rules.)
The changes were published in the Federal Register on Feb. 3.
For questions about these changes or other campaign-finance-related issues, please contact Hannah Wesolowski, senior manager, political involvement practice, at hwesolowski@pac.org or 202.787.5969.
