2025 Citywide Elections
Contribution limits apply to all campaigns, whether or not you join the matching funds program. Both monetary and in-kind contributions of goods and services are subject to these limits. All candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from corporations, LLCs, and partnerships. Candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from political committees not registered with the CFB for the current election cycle. You can view the list of registered political committees for the 2025 election cycle (which also covers the 2023 City Council election cycle) here.
The Campaign Finance Act requires that contribution and expenditure limits be adjusted every four years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The new limits are reflected below and will be applicable for the entire election cycle.
|
Office |
Participant |
Non-Participant |
|---|---|---|
|
Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller |
$2,100 |
$3,700 |
|
Borough President |
$1,600 |
$2,650 |
|
City Council |
$1,050 |
$1,600 |
If an individual contributor has business dealings with the city at the time their contribution is made, lower limits apply, whether the candidate is a participant or non-participant. Doing business contributions are not eligible for matching funds and do not count toward the threshold to receive public funds.
|
Office |
Doing Business Contribution Limit |
|---|---|
| Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller |
$400 |
|
Borough President |
$320 |
|
City Council |
$250 |
Program participants must observe strict spending limits. A spending limit is the maximum total amount a campaign can spend during different periods of an election cycle. The amounts vary depending on which office you seek. Non-participants are not subject to a spending limit.
The Campaign Finance Act requires that contribution and expenditure limits be adjusted every four years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The new limits adopted February 2022 are reflected below and will be applicable for the entire election cycle.
|
Office |
Out-Year * |
Primary Election† |
General Election |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mayor |
$374,000 |
$7,932,000 |
$7,932,000 |
|
Public Advocate, Comptroller |
$374,000 |
$4,959,000 |
$4,959,000 |
|
Borough President |
$166,000 |
$1,785,000 |
$1,785,000 |
|
City Council |
$55,000 |
$207,000 |
$207,000 |
*Spending in excess of these amounts will be charged against the first limit applicable.
†If no primary is held, there is no primary election spending limit.
If a non-participant raises or spends more than half the applicable spending limit, the spending limit for all participants in that race will be increased by 50%. If a non-participant raises or spends more than three times the applicable spending limit, participants in that race will no longer be subject to a spending limit. The CFB will review disclosure statements to see if expenditure limit relief is warranted and will notify affected campaigns. Candidates may also petition the Board if they believe that a non-participating opponent has triggered expenditure limit relief. Candidates should never assume that their expenditure limit has been increased or suspended unless they receive written confirmation from the CFB.
Program participants must meet this two-part fundraising threshold, abide by Program requirements, and face opposition on the ballot to qualify for public funding. Only the first $175 to $250, depending on the office sought, of an individual New York City resident’s contribution is applied toward meeting the dollar amount threshold.
|
Office |
Minimum Funds Raised |
Number of Contributors |
|---|---|---|
| Mayor |
$250,000 |
1,000 |
|
Public Advocate, Comptroller |
$125,000 |
500 |
|
Borough President |
$10,000 – $54,721* |
100† |
|
City Council |
$5,000 |
75‡ |
*The threshold amount is based upon the number of persons living in each borough, according to the 2020 Census and rounded to the nearest dollar. The amount for each borough is: Bronx ($29,453), Brooklyn ($54,721), Manhattan ($33,885), Queens ($48,109), and Staten Island ($10,000).
† Must be borough residents.
‡ Must be district residents.
Public Funds Matching Rate
The Program matches each dollar a New York City resident gives, up to $250 (depending on office sought), with eight dollars in public funds, for a maximum of $2,000 in public funds per contributor.
| Matching Rate |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Matching Rate | Maximum Matchable Per Contributor | Maximum Public Funds Per Contributor |
| Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller | $8-to-$1 | $250 | $2,000 |
| Borough President, City Council | $175 | $1,400 | |
Maximum Public Funds Payment
The Campaign Finance Act requires that contribution and expenditure limits be adjusted every four years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The public funds maximums and caps are based on the expenditure limit, so they are also adjusted. These new maximums are reflected below.
| Maximum Public Funds Payments* | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Primary Election | General Election |
| Mayor | $7,050,667 | $7,050,667 |
| Public Advocate, Comptroller | $4,408,000 | $4,408,000 |
| Borough President | $1,586,667 | $1,586,667 |
| City Council | $184,000 | $184,000 |
*89% of applicable spending limit.
Timing of Payments
Public funds payments begin as early as December 2024. The schedule of payments for the 2025 election cycle will be posted on this page at least one year prior to the first payment.
For more information on public funds eligibility criteria, please see Chapter 6 of the Handbook. For more information on the Program and how to join, see Join the Matching Funds Program.
Ineligibility for Public Funds
A campaign may be ineligible to receive public funds if: 1) there is a difference between the financial activity reported by the campaign and the financial activity documented by the campaign (a “reporting variance”), 2) the campaign fails to report employment information for a portion of its matching claims, or 3) the campaign fails to provide complete and accurate backup documentation for a portion of its matching claims. See Board Rule 3-01(d) (which also lists the other factors that may lead to a determination of ineligibility). The threshold percentages for reporting variances, missing employment information, and backup documentation error rate are published for each election cycle on or before July 11 in the year before the year of the election. Campaigns that exceed any of those percentages may be ineligible to receive public funds until they correct their reporting or submit additional documentation.