Reports due in 2015
This article on filing requirements for 2015 is supplemented by the reporting tables linked at https://transition.fec.gov/info/report_dates_2015.shtml.
Year-End reports covering 2014 activity
All committees must file a 2014 Year-End Report due January 31, 2015, that covers activity through December 31, 2014. The Commission will host reporting workshops for PACs and party
committees on January 14 and for candidates on January 21 to help filers prepare their reports.
Since the January 31 deadline falls on a weekend in 2015, monthly and quarterly filers using methods other than electronic filing or registered, certified or overnight mail must ensure that their reports are received by the Commission’s (or the Secretary of the Senate Public Records Office’s) close of business on the last business day before the deadline (i.e., Friday, January 30).
Reports covering 2015 activity
To find out which reports your committee must file in 2015, check the Guide to 2015 Reporting.
Then check the bulleted links to tables for various categories of reporting dates. Please note that committees active in special elections in 2015 may have to file additional special election reports. All FEC reporting dates are also available on the Commission’s website.
Notification of filing deadlines
In addition to publishing this article and the online reporting tables, the Commission notifies committees of filing deadlines through reporting reminders called prior notices. Prior notices
are distributed exclusively by electronic mail, so every committee should ensure that the email address on its Statement of Organization (FEC Form 1) is current. Each committee may list up to two email addresses. To amend Form 1, electronic filers
must submit Form 1 filled out in its entirety. Paper filers should include only the committee’s name, address, FEC identification number and the updated or changed portions of the form.
Treasurer’s responsibilities
The Commission provides reminders of upcoming filing dates as a courtesy to help committees comply with the filing deadlines set forth in the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and Commission regulations. Committee treasurers are responsible
for filing committee reports on time. Not receiving a prior notice does not excuse committee treasurers for failing to comply with any filing deadline.
Filing electronically
Under the Commission’s mandatory electronic filing regulations, individuals and organizations required to file with the FEC that receive contributions or make expenditures, including independent expenditures, aggregating in excess of $50,000 in a
calendar year — or have reason to expect to do so — must file all reports and statements electronically. [fn1] Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing date. 11 CFR 100.19(c).
Electronic filers who file on paper or submit an electronic report that does not pass the Commission’s validation program by the filing deadline will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines.
11 CFR 104.18(a)(2) and (e).
Senate campaigns and other committees that file with the Secretary of the Senate must file their FEC reports on paper, but may file an additional unofficial electronic copy of their report with the Commission in order to speed up disclosure.
The Commission’s electronic filing software, FECFile, is free and can be downloaded. All reports filed after March 13, 2014, must be filed in Format Version 8.1.0.1. Reports filed in previous formats will not be accepted. Filers may also use commercial or privately developed software as long as the software meets the Commission’s format specifications, which are available on the Commission’s website. Committees using commercial software should contact their vendors to ensure their software meets the latest specifications.
Timely filing for paper filers
Registered and Certified Mail. Reports sent by registered or certified mail must be postmarked on or before the filing deadline to be considered timely filed. A committee sending its reports by certified or registered mail should keep its mailing receipt with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postmark as proof of filing because the USPS does not keep complete records of items sent by certified mail. A committee sending its report by registered mail should keep its proof of mailing. Note that a certificate of mailing from the USPS is not sufficient to prove that a report is timely filed using registered, certified or overnight mail. See 52 U.S.C. § 30104(a)(5) and 11 CFR 100.19 and 104.5(e) and (i).
Overnight mail. Reports sent via overnight mail [fn2] will be considered timely filed if the report is received by the delivery service on or before the mailing deadline. A committee sending its reports by Priority Mail Express, or by an overnight delivery service, should keep its proof of mailing or other means of transmittal of its reports. See 52 U.S.C. § 30104(a)(5) and 11 CFR 100.19 and 104.5(e).
Other means of filing. Reports sent by other means — including first class mail and courier — must be received by the FEC (or the Secretary of the Senate) before close of business on the filing deadline. See 11 CFR 100.19 and 104.5(e).
Forms may be downloaded and are available from FEC Faxline, the agency’s automated fax system (202/501-3413). The 2015 Reporting Schedule is also available on the FEC’s website at https://transition.fec.gov/info/report_dates_2015.shtml. For more information on reporting, call the FEC at 800/424-9530 or 202/694-1100.
State, district and local party committees
State, district and local party committees that engage in reportable “federal election activity” must file on a monthly schedule. See 11 CFR 300.36(b) and (c)(1). Other such committees may file on a quarterly schedule. See 11 CFR 104.5(c)(1)(i).
National party committees
National committees of political parties must file on a monthly schedule. 52 U.S.C. § 30104(a)(4)(B) and 11 CFR 104.5(c)(4).
Political action committees
PACs (separate segregated funds, hybrid committees and independent expenditure-only committees, a.k.a., Super PACs, and other nonconnected committees) file on a quarterly or monthly basis. PACs may change their filing schedule, but must first notify
the Commission in writing. Electronic filers must file this request electronically. A committee may change its filing frequency only once a year. 11 CFR 104.5(c).
Additional information
For more information on 2015 reporting dates:
- Call and request the reporting tables from the FEC at 800/424-9530 or 202/694-1100;
- Fax the reporting tables to yourself using the FEC’s Faxline (202/501-3413, document 586);
or - Visit the FEC’s web page at https://transition.fec.gov/info/report_dates_2015.shtml to view the reporting tables online.
1 The regulation covers individuals and organizations required to file reports of contributions and/or expenditures with the Commission, including any person making an independent expenditure. 11 CFR 104.18(a). Disbursements for “electioneering communications” are not considered “expenditures” and thus do not count toward the $50,000 threshold for mandatory electronic filing. See 11 CFR 104.18(a).
2 “Overnight mail” includes Priority Mail Express having a delivery confirmation, or an overnight service with which the report is scheduled for next business day delivery and is recorded in the service’s online tracking system.
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