
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 26USC9004]

 
                     TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
 
        Subtitle H--Financing of Presidential Election Campaigns
 
             CHAPTER 95--PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN FUND
 
Sec. 9004. Entitlement of eligible candidates to payments


(a) In general

    Subject to the provisions of this chapter--
        (1) The eligible candidates of each major party in a 
    presidential election shall be entitled to equal payments under 
    section 9006 in an amount which, in the aggregate, shall not exceed 
    the expenditure limitations applicable to such candidates under 
    section 320(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
        (2)(A) The eligible candidates of a minor party in a 
    presidential election shall be entitled to payments under section 
    9006 equal in the aggregate to an amount which bears the same ratio 
    to the amount allowed under paragraph (1) for a major party as the 
    number of popular votes received by the candidate for President of 
    the minor party, as such candidate, in the preceding presidential 
    election bears to the average number of popular votes received by 
    the candidates for President of the major parties in the preceding 
    presidential election.
        (B) If the candidate of one or more political parties (not 
    including a major party) for the office of President was a candidate 
    for such office in the preceding presidential election and received 
    5 percent or more but less than 25 percent of the total number of 
    popular votes received by all candidates for such office, such 
    candidate and his running mate for the office of Vice President, 
    upon compliance with the provisions of section 9003(a) and (c), 
    shall be treated as eligible candidates entitled to payments under 
    section 9006 in an amount computed as provided in subparagraph (A) 
    by taking into account all the popular votes received by such 
    candidate for the office of President in the preceding presidential 
    election. If eligible candidates of a minor party are entitled to 
    payments under this subparagraph, such entitlement shall be reduced 
    by the amount of the entitlement allowed under subparagraph (A).
        (3) The eligible candidates of a minor party or a new party in a 
    presidential election whose candidate for President in such election 
    receives, as such candidate, 5 percent or more of the total number 
    of popular votes cast for the office of President in such election 
    shall be entitled to payments under section 9006 equal in the 
    aggregate to an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount 
    allowed under paragraph (1) for a major party as the number of 
    popular votes received by such candidate in such election bears to 
    the average number of popular votes received in such election by the 
    candidates for President of the major parties. In the case of 
    eligible candidates entitled to payments under paragraph (2), the 
    amount allowable under this paragraph shall be limited to the 
    amount, if any, by which the entitlement under the preceding 
    sentence exceeds the amount of the entitlement under paragraph (2).

(b) Limitations

    The aggregate payments to which the eligible candidates of a 
political party shall be entitled under subsections (a)(2) and (3) with 
respect to a presidential election shall not exceed an amount equal to 
the lower of--
        (1) the amount of qualified campaign expenses incurred by such 
    eligible candidates and their authorized committees, reduced by the 
    amount of contributions to defray qualified campaign expenses 
    received and expended or retained by such eligible candidates and 
    such committees, or
        (2) the aggregate payments to which the eligible candidates of a 
    major party are entitled under subsection (a)(1), reduced by the 
    amount of contributions described in paragraph (1) of this 
    subsection.

(c) Restrictions

    The eligible candidates of a political party shall be entitled to 
payments under subsection (a) only--
        (1) to defray qualified campaign expenses incurred by such 
    eligible candidates or their authorized committees, or
        (2) to repay loans the proceeds of which were used to defray 
    such qualified campaign expenses, or otherwise to restore funds 
    (other than contributions to defray qualified campaign expenses 
    received and expended by such candidates or such committees) used to 
    defray such qualified campaign expenses.

(d) Expenditures from personal funds

    In order to be eligible to receive any payment under section 9006, 
the candidate of a major, minor, or new party in an election for the 
office of President shall certify to the Commission, under penalty of 
perjury, that such candidate will not knowingly make expenditures from 
his personal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, in 
connection with his campaign for election to the office of President in 
excess of, in the aggregate, $50,000. For purposes of this subsection, 
expenditures from personal funds made by a candidate of a major, minor, 
or new party for the office of Vice President shall be considered to be 
expenditures by the candidate of such party for the office of President.

(e) Definition of immediate family

    For purposes of subsection (d), the term ``immediate family'' means 
a candidate's spouse, and any child, parent, grandparent, brother, half-
brother, sister, or half-sister of the candidate, and the spouses of 
such persons.

(Added Pub. L. 92-178, title VIII, Sec. 801, Dec. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 
565; amended Pub. L. 93-443, title IV, Sec. 404(a), (b), Oct. 15, 1974, 
88 Stat. 1291; Pub. L. 94-283, title III, Secs. 301(a), 307(d), May 11, 
1976, 90 Stat. 497, 501.)

                       References in Text

    Section 320 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, referred 
to in subsec. (a)(1), was renumbered section 315 of that Act by Pub. L. 
96-187, title I, Sec. 105(5), Jan. 8, 1980, 93 Stat. 1354, and is 
classified to section 441a(b)(1)(B) of Title 2, The Congress.


                               Amendments

    1976--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 94-283, Sec. 307(d), substituted 
``section 320(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971'' 
for ``section 608(c)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code''.
    Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 94-283, Sec. 301(a), added subsecs. (d) 
and (e).
    1974--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 93-443, Sec. 404(a), substituted 
provision which limited aggregate amount of payments to eligible 
candidates to an amount not exceeding the expenditure limitations 
applicable to such candidates under section 608(c)(1)(B) of title 18 for 
prior provision which determined the amount by multiplying 15 cents by 
the total number of residents within the United States who attained the 
age of 18, determined by the Bureau of the Census, as of the first day 
of June of the year preceding the year of the presidential election.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 93-443, Sec. 404(b)(1), substituted 
``allowed'' for ``computed''.
    Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 93-443, Sec. 404(b)(2), substituted 
``allowed'' for ``computed'' in first sentence.


                    Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

    Section 301(b) of Pub. L. 94-283, as amended by Pub. L. 99-514, 
Sec. 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, provided that: ``For purposes of 
applying section 9004(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly 
I.R.C. 1954], as added by subsection (a), expenditures made by an 
individual after January 29, 1976, and before the date of the enactment 
of this Act [May 11, 1976] shall not be taken into account.''


                    Effective Date of 1974 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 93-443 applicable with respect to taxable years 
beginning after Dec. 31, 1974, see section 410(c)(1) of Pub. L. 93-443, 
set out as a note under section 431 of Title 2, The Congress.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 9002, 9003, 9005, 9007, 9012 
of this title.
