Introduction to Campaign Finance Reporting

What is a Campaign Finance Report?

Campaign Finance Reports are reports detailing contributions, receipts, expenditures, and debts for candidates, committees, or lobbyists. Candidates and their supporting committees also must include their office, district, county, and party. Each contribution, receipt, expenditure, and debt contains a name, address, date, amount, and description of the transaction. In addition, contributions over $250 must contain employment information of the contributor. Finally, the totals of all contributions, receipts, expenditures, and debts must be calculated along with the beginning and ending account balance for the reporting cycle.

Why are Campaign Finance Reports Important?

Public and private entities use these reports to examine the source of political candidates' contributions, how campaigns are spending the money, and how many total funds are still available. Additionally, because there are strict laws on how much an individual, business, or committee can contribute to a candidate, the Philadelphia Board of Ethics uses these reports to make sure candidates, committees, lobbyists, and individuals are in compliance with the law.

How often do Campaign Finance Reports need to be submitted?

Each year is divided into seven reporting periods (not including special reporting periods like 24 hour reporting cycles in the Spring and Fall), or cycles, for which candidates, committees, and lobbyists may or may not need to file. See the official filing dates for more details.