Elections & terms
contribution limit
The legal cap on how much a person or group may give directly to a federal candidate, party, or PAC. Indexed for inflation and set per election.
In full
Limits apply per election, so a primary and a general count separately. Direct corporate and union contributions to federal candidates have been prohibited since 1907 and 1947 respectively. The aggregate cap on what one donor could give across all candidates was struck down in McCutcheon v. FEC (2014); the per-recipient limits remain.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.