Your web browser is not supported You're using Internet Explorer, some features might not work. Please switch to another browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for a better experience.


An official website of the United States government Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Federal Election Commission | United States of America Calendar
           Glossary
          Search
              Search


Menu
      Home
      Campaign finance data
        All data
            Raising
            Spending
            Loans and debts
            Filings and reports
            Candidates
            Committees
            Bulk data
            Campaign finance statistics
        Find elections. Search by state or ZIP code
          Look up contributions from specific individuals
      Help for candidates and committees
        All compliance resources
            Guides
            Forms
            Dates and deadlines
            Trainings
        Learn about electronic filing
          Find and contact your committee's analyst
      Legal resources
        All legal resources
            Advisory opinions
            Enforcement
            Statutes
            Legislation
            Regulations
            Court cases
            Policy and other guidance
        Search across all legal resources
          Search guidance documents
      About
        All about the FEC
            News and announcements
            Commission meetings
            Mission and history
            Leadership and structure
            Reports about the FEC
            Careers
            Working with the FEC
            Contact
        Introduction to campaign finance and elections


- Home
- ›
        Help for candidates and committees
- ›
        Making disbursements as a PAC
- ›
      Supporting multiple candidates

Supporting multiple candidates A “direct candidate support” activity is an in-kind contribution or an independent expenditure that supports specific candidates. In-kind contributions that must be allocated include payments for fundraising activities conducted on behalf of both federal and nonfederal candidates. An independent expenditure must be allocated if it advocates the election or defeat of both federal and nonfederal candidates. Allocable direct candidate support also includes public communications or voter drives that refer to both federal and nonfederal candidates, regardless of any reference to a political party. As explained, a nonconnected committee must allocate direct candidate support expenses only if it uses separate federal and nonfederal accounts to pay for them. Activities not subject to allocation Public communications that refer to one or more federal candidates, but do not refer to any nonfederal candidates, must be funded exclusively with federal funds, even if the communication includes a generic reference to a political party. Voter drives in which the printed materials, scripted messages or written instructions refer to one or more federal candidates, but do not refer to any nonfederal candidates, must be financed exclusively with federal funds, regardless of any references to a political party or a particular issue. Public communications that refer to nonfederal candidates, but do not refer to any federal candidates, may be financed with nonfederal funds, regardless of whether the communication refers to a political party. These communications may also be funded by the federal account if permitted by the relevant state law. Voter drives in which the printed materials, scripted messages or written instructions refer to nonfederal candidates, but do not refer to any federal candidates, may be financed with nonfederal funds, regardless of any reference to a political party or particular issue. These voter drives may also be funded by the federal account if permitted by the relevant state law. Allocation between accounts When a committee makes a public communication or conducts voter drive activity referring to both federal and nonfederal candidates, regardless of whether there is a reference to a political party, the costs must be allocated whether or not the activity qualifies as an in-kind contribution or an independent expenditure. Expenses for shared activities must be allocated between the accounts to ensure that the federal account pays its share of the costs associated with that activity. Allocation is not required, however, if shared expenses are paid entirely by the federal account. Failure to allocate expenses when required could result in a contribution by the nonfederal account to the federal account—a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Payment of allocable direct candidate support expenses Committees with separate federal and nonfederal accounts must use one of the following two methods to pay allocable activity expenses: Payment from federal account The committee may pay the entire amount from its federal account, transferring funds from the nonfederal account to the federal account only to cover the nonfederal share of allocable expenses. Payment from allocation account The committee may establish a separate allocation account for the sole purpose of paying joint federal and nonfederal expenses. Under the second option, the committee transfers funds from both the federal and nonfederal accounts to the separate allocation account in amounts equal, respectively, to the federal and nonfederal shares of each allocable expense. The allocation account is considered a federal account, and the committee must include the account’s receipts and disbursements in its FEC reports. Timing of internal transfers The committee must transfer funds from the nonfederal account to the federal account (or to the allocation account) within a 70-day “window”— not more than 10 days before or 60 days after the original payment to the vendor. The committee must report each such transfer and itemize the activities the transferred funds are intended to pay. (A transfer from the federal account to the allocation account is permissible at any time and is not reported separately.) Time limits also apply to adjustments of the allocation ratio and corresponding transfers, which may be required after an activity where federal and nonfederal funds are raised. Allocation ratios Committees with separate federal and nonfederal accounts must use the following allocation ratios to determine the federal and nonfederal share of allocable activity expenses. Space / Time ratio Used for: Public communications that refer to both federal and nonfederal candidates; andVoter drives, including voter identification, voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives that refer to both clearly identified federal and nonfederal candidates. Calculation: Costs are allocated according to the ratio of space or time devoted to federal candidates compared with the total space or time devoted to all candidates, federal and nonfederal. In the case of a phone bank, the ratio is determined by the number of questions or statements devoted to federal candidates compared with the total number of questions or statements for all candidates. Allocating costs of public communications and voter drives for candidates When a committee makes a public communication or conducts voter drive activity referring to both federal and nonfederal candidates, regardless of whether there is a reference to a political party, the costs must be allocated whether or not the activity qualifies as an in-kind contribution or an independent expenditure. This section’s explanation of the rules for allocating these costs is based on the following scenario:
 Example: Allocating costs of public communications and voter drives for candidates Civil Republic PAC, a nonconnected committee, maintains a separate nonfederal account for use in state and local elections. During the election year, Civil Republic PAC plans to purchase several advertisements in local newspapers to urge voters to support four candidates: a candidate for governor, a candidate for state treasurer, a candidate for secretary of state and a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Equal space in the advertisements will be devoted to each candidate. The total cost for running the advertisements is $4,250.
 Required forms Schedule B: Itemized Disbursements (if communications are in-kind contributions)Schedule E: Itemized Independent Expenditures (if communications qualify)Schedule H2: Allocation RatiosSchedule H3: Transfers from Nonfederal to Federal AccountSchedule H4: Disbursements for Allocated Activity Unique identifier Every direct candidate support activity must be assigned a unique identifying name or code. On Schedule H2, Civil Republic PAC lists “Newspaper Campaign” as the unique identifier for the activity. The committee will use “Newspaper Campaign” to refer to the advertisements in all future reports. Allocation ratio Because “Newspaper Campaign” is a public communication, the committee uses a “time and space ratio” to allocate the $4,250 total expected cost on Schedule H2. In this case, the ratio of space devoted to federal candidates to space used for all candidates is 1/4. (The committee would base its allocation on time if the advertisements were broadcast.) Expressing the allocation ratio in percentages, Civil Republic PAC enters 25 percent federal and 75 percent nonfederal in the appropriate spaces on Schedule H2.
 Payments Civil Republic PAC makes all allocable payments from its federal account (or separate allocation account) and itemizes them on Schedule H4. Because the payments are independent expenditures, the federal share is itemized on Schedule E and included in the total figure for Line 24 (Independent Expenditures) of the Detailed Summary Page. The “event year-to-date” figure represents the aggregate amount paid to all payees for “Newspaper Campaign” as of the date of payment.
 Transfer of funds The nonfederal share is 3/4 of the $4,250 total cost. The committee transfers $3,187.50 from the nonfederal account to the federal account (or separate allocation account). The transfer is made during the permissible 70-day window. Civil Republic PAC reports the receipt of the transfer on Schedule H3. The amount is also included on Line 18(a) of the Detailed Summary Page.
 Read next
            
          
            
          Coordinated communicationsIndependent expendituresUse of candidate's name in projects From the FEC Record Final rules on funds received in response to solicitations; allocation of expenses by PACs
 Need help? Get help from the FEC by phone or email
 Legal citations Regulations 11 CFR 104.10Reporting by separate segregated funds and nonconnected committees of expenses allocated among candidates and activities 11 CFR 106.1(a)Allocation of expenses between candidates; General rule 11 CFR 106.6Allocation of expenses between federal and non-federal activities by separate segregated funds and nonconnected committees
 Press releases FEC statement on EMILY's List v. FEC (regarding allocation of expenses)


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


About
          Careers
          Press
          Contact
   Privacy and security policy
          Plain language
          No FEAR Act
          Strategy, budget and performance
 Open government
          Protected Voices
          USA.gov
          Inspector General
          FOIA
 OpenFEC API
          GitHub repository
          Release notes
          FEC.gov status


Federal Election Commission
 The FEC's Twitter page
            The FEC's YouTube page Sign up for FECMail


Hide glossary Glossary Search terms