Are campaign expenses incured by the candidate tax deductible?

May 5, 2009 10:38 AM

You Are Not My CPA Filter: I have a friend who is running for a small-time local political office (city charter commission) and who is paying all his campaign costs (signs, literature, etc.) out of his own pocket. Are these expenses tax deductible? We're having trouble wading through the thousands of Google results on business deductions to find an answer....
posted by anastasia to work & money (5 comments total)

Contributions to a political candidate or campaign are not tax deductible. It doesn't matter if you're donating to your own campaign or someone else's.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:42 AM on May 5

Political campaigns are not considered businesses.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:47 AM on May 5

This IRS publication might be what you need. This is for 2008 taxes. Look at the list of non-deductible expenses on page 13, which includes "campaign expenses."
posted by bluedaisy at 10:49 AM on May 5

Campaign contributions are never tax deductible. They may, however, be reportable, depending on your local and state laws.
posted by gingerbeer at 12:51 PM on May 5

Political expenses have to be reported to a state agency in every jurisdiction that I am aware of, even when paid by the candidate. These are most often characterized as a loan, for purposes of reporting income to the candidate's committee, with the idea that they may be repaid when campaign contributions start coming in. A very large proportion never get to that point.
posted by megatherium at 5:01 PM on May 5