The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced several significant contribution limit increases last week, as federal giving caps were adjusted substantially upward to keep pace with inflation. These changes, published in the Federal Register on February 2, are made in each odd-numbered year with the beginning of the federal election cycle and set the tone for political engagement throughout the course of the next two years.
The announced 2023-24 contribution limit increases constitute a significant change from the governing limits in place over the past two year election cycle. In a $400 jump from the 2021-22 limits, individuals can now give up to $3,300 per election to candidate committees. Individuals and non-multicandidate PACs will now also be able to give an extra $4,800 to national party committees per year, as the new limits have been bumped up from $36,500 to $41,300 per calendar year. Individuals and non-multicandidate PACs may now also contribute up to $123,900 per calendar year to the special national party committee accounts for presidential nominating conventions, headquarter buildings, and election contests and legal proceedings – a whopping $14,400 increase from the 2021-22 cycle.
As part of this new round of inflation adjustments, national party committees (DNC and RNC) and their Senatorial campaign committees (NRSC and DSCC) can now contribute a combined $57,800 to each Senate candidate, an increase of $6,600 from 2021-22 values.
A detailed chart of the contribution limits in place for 2023 and 2024, as provided by the FEC, is included below.
It is worth noting that this new round of contribution limit increases do not apply to donations made by federal multicandidate PACs, as those limits are not indexed for inflation. Multicandidate PACs are still limited to making contributions of no more than $5,000 per election to candidate committees and no more than $5,000 per calendar year to other PACs and state, local, and district party committees. Multicandidate PAC giving to national party committees is also still capped at $15,000 per year and limited to no more than $45,000 per year to the special national party committee accounts.
With these new changes in place until early 2025, it is important that individuals, political committees, and other political organizations familiarize themselves with new limits to inform the boundaries of permissible engagement in the 2024 federal election cycle. Dentons Political Law Team regularly counsels clients on campaign finance compliance, political giving, and a variety of state and federal election law matters, so please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions on how these new limits may apply to your organization.
