NYS Campaign Finance Rules: Limits, Contributors, and Penalties

New York State campaign finance rules are set by Article 14 of the Election Law and enforced by the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE), with a separate Public Campaign Finance Board (PCFB) running a voluntary matching-funds program on top. If you are running for state or local office, managing a campaign’s money, or writing a check to a candidate, you need to know three things: how much a donor can legally give, what the campaign must disclose and when, and what the campaign is barred from spending the money on. The 2022 reforms lowered contribution caps across the board, and those reduced numbers govern the 2026 cycle.

2026 Contribution Limits

Every donor faces a per-election cap tied to the office the candidate is seeking. For 2026, the limits from any single non-family contributor are:

Statewide offices (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General): $9,000 per primary and $9,000 per general election.
State Senate: $5,000 per primary and $5,000 per general election.
State Assembly: $3,000 per primary and $3,000 per general election.

These caps apply whether or not the candidate participates in the public matching program. Family members of the candidate (children, parents, grandparents, siblings, and their spouses) get higher limits that vary by party enrollment and district population, sometimes reaching six figures for statewide races.¹

PACs and unions follow the same per-election limits as individuals. Constituted party committees can give unlimited amounts to candidates in a general election but are barred from primary contests.²

There is also a ceiling on total giving. No individual may contribute, loan, or guarantee more than $150,000 in a calendar year across all New York state and local candidates, party committees, and political committees combined.³ A loan or guarantee counts against that ceiling only if it is not repaid during the same calendar year.

Who Can and Cannot Contribute

Corporations and Business Entities

Corporations, LLCs, and similar entities may give, but they share a single aggregate cap of $5,000 per calendar year across all New York candidates and committees combined.⁴ Public utilities cannot use revenue collected from customers for political contributions unless the cost is charged to shareholders.

LLCs

LLC contributions carry a transparency rule that trips up new treasurers. Every dollar an LLC contributes must be attributed to each member in proportion to that member’s ownership interest, starting from the first dollar.⁵ The LLC itself must also file an annual statement with the NYSBOE identifying all direct and indirect owners and their ownership percentages.⁴

Partnerships

Partnerships work differently. A partnership can give up to $2,500 to a candidate or committee and treat the donation as coming from the partnership itself. Above $2,500, the campaign has to attribute the contribution to each partner whose share exceeds $99, and those attributed amounts count against each partner’s personal limits.⁵

Foreign Nationals

Federal law bars foreign nationals who are not lawful permanent residents from contributing to any federal, state, or local election in the United States.⁶ A green card holder may contribute. Anyone on a visa or tourist status may not.

Self-Funding by the Candidate

If you are the candidate and you are not participating in the public matching program, your own personal funds and your spouse’s are not treated as “contributions” and are not capped. You still have to report every dollar in your disclosure filings.²

Candidates who opt into the matching program face a much tighter leash. Personal funds (including funds held jointly with a spouse or unemancipated children) are capped at three times the individual contribution limit for the office. For a participating Assembly candidate, that caps personal spending at $9,000.²

The Public Matching-Funds Program Changes the Rules

New York’s Public Campaign Finance Program is voluntary. Candidates who opt in get matching dollars on small in-district contributions, with legislative candidates receiving a tiered match that pays the heaviest multiple on the smallest donations and statewide candidates matched at 6-to-1 on each qualifying dollar. In exchange, participants accept tighter personal-spending caps and additional PCFB oversight. Qualifying thresholds for 2026 are $6,000 raised from at least 75 district residents for an Assembly race and $12,000 from at least 150 district residents for a Senate race, with a one-third reduction available in districts whose median income falls below the state average. Only the first $250 of any contributor’s total donations counts toward the qualifying dollar threshold, and a contributor who gives more than $1,050 across the cycle is excluded from the required contributor count entirely.⁷ Loans, in-kind donations, anonymous gifts, contributions from minors, and contributions from registered lobbyists are not matchable.⁸

What Campaign Funds Cannot Pay For

Campaign money can cover any lawful purpose connected to running for office or holding one, but it cannot be converted to personal use. New York law defines personal use as any expenditure that benefits the candidate personally and has no connection to the campaign or to the duties of public office.⁹ The statute flags specific categories:

Mortgage, rent, or utility payments on a personal residence, unless the expense directly results from the campaign. If part of a home is used for campaign work, only the pro-rated fair-market-value share qualifies.
Personal clothing, unless the items are used specifically in the campaign or in official duties.
Club memberships (country clubs, gyms, recreational facilities), unless tied to a specific fundraising event held on the premises.
Entertainment tickets, unless connected to a campaign or official function.
Tuition and childcare, unless directly incurred as part of campaign activity or official duties.
Payments to family members, unless they provide genuine services at fair-market-value rates. Anything above fair value is personal use.
Fines or penalties imposed under the Election Law, criminal statutes, or ethics rules.
Interest or finance charges on loans the candidate or the candidate’s spouse made to the campaign.

The “not in connection with a campaign” test is fact-specific, and the NYSBOE has enforcement authority to investigate.⁹

Registering the Committee and Filing Disclosure

Before a campaign accepts or spends a dollar, it must register with the NYSBOE and obtain a Filer ID. Most single-candidate campaigns use the CF-02 registration form, which has to be filed within five days of choosing a treasurer and bank depository. A candidate who intends to handle all financial activity personally, with no separate committee, can register individually using form CF-04.¹⁰

Once registered, the committee files periodic disclosure reports on form CF-01. Each report itemizes every contribution received (donor’s full name, residential address, and date) and every expenditure made (recipient, address, and purpose).¹¹ Any contribution over $100 must be received by check, credit card, or another traceable instrument. Cash above that threshold is not permitted.⁵

The 2026 schedule includes 32-day and 11-day pre-primary reports, matching 32-day and 11-day pre-general reports, post-election filings, and standing January and July periodic reports. The NYSBOE publishes the full filing calendar with exact cutoff and due dates each year.¹² Reports are submitted through the Electronic Filing System (EFS) and signed electronically by the treasurer. Filings go into a public database that any voter can search.

Penalties for Violations

Penalties scale with severity and intent:

Late or missing filings carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per report. Three or more missed filings in the same cycle raise the maximum to $10,000.¹³
Knowingly accepting a contribution above the legal cap requires refunding the excess and triggers a civil penalty equal to the excess amount plus a fine of up to $10,000.¹³
Knowingly and willfully failing to file a required report within 10 days of the deadline, or knowingly violating any other provision of Article 14, is a misdemeanor.¹³
Knowingly giving, accepting, or helping to accept a contribution over the legal limit is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail.
Organizing or coordinating unauthorized committees to evade contribution limits is a Class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.¹³

The NYSBOE’s chief enforcement counsel brings civil actions, and committees that fall behind usually hear from the Board before anything escalates to criminal referral. Filing on time, even if the report shows no activity, is the simplest protection.

Closing a Committee

Committees do not shut down automatically after election day. A committee stays active, and must keep filing every scheduled disclosure, until the NYSBOE formally approves termination. To close, the committee has to zero out its bank account, repay or obtain forgiveness letters for all outstanding loans and liabilities, and file a final itemized disclosure through EFS.¹⁴

The treasurer then submits form CF-18, the Termination or Resignation Request. This is a request, not an automatic approval. The committee is not terminated until it receives a written confirmation letter from the NYSBOE, and any report that comes due while the request is pending still has to be filed.¹⁴ Surplus funds can be returned to contributors, donated to charity, transferred to a party committee, or given to other candidates within the applicable limits. Candidates who intend to run under the public matching program must terminate any existing authorized committee for the same office before the PCFB will process their application.

1
New York State Board of Elections. 2026 Contribution Limits
2
New York State Board of Elections. Contribution Limits
3
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 14-114
4
New York State Senate. New York Code ELN 14-116
5
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 14-120
6
Federal Election Commission. Foreign Nationals
7
New York State Public Campaign Finance Board. Candidate and Committee Services
8
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 14-200-A
9
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 14-130
10
New York State Board of Elections. Registration and Authorization Forms
11
New York State Board of Elections. CF-01 Campaign Financial Disclosure Report
12
New York State Board of Elections. 2026 Filing Calendar
13
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 14-126
14
New York State Board of Elections. Resignation and Termination