351—4.25(68A,68B) Legitimate expenditures of campaign funds.

1. 4.25(1)  Expenses that may be paid from campaign funds for campaign purposes include but are not limited to the following items, so long as the items are for the sole purpose of promoting or enhancing the candidacy of the candidate:

   1. a. Electronic media advertising, such as radio, television, and Internet.
   2. b. Printed advertising, such as newspaper, magazine, newsletter, and shopper advertising.
   3. c. Printed promotional materials, such as brochures, flyers, invitations, stationery, envelopes, reply cards, return envelopes, campaign business cards, direct mailings, buttons, stickers, bumper stickers, pencils, pens, balloons, notepads, magnets, key chains, and articles of clothing that include political advertising.
   4. d. Campaign signs, such as yard signs, car signs, and billboards.
   5. e. Travel and lodging expenses of campaign workers for campaign purposes and political party activities. Travel and lodging expenses for a candidate to attend a national political party convention are also permitted.
   6. f. Contributions to political party committees.
   7. g. The purchase of tickets to a meal for the candidate and one guest. However, the purchase or rental of clothing to attend an event is not a permissible campaign expenditure.
   8. h. General campaign expenditures, such as printing; mailing; office supplies; photographs; gambling permits; fundraiser prizes; and telephone, Internet, and computer services.
   9. i. Purchase or lease of campaign equipment, such as copy machines, telephones, computer hardware, software, and printers.
   10. j. Purchase or lease of campaign office space, parking lots, or storage space and payment for campaign office utilities and maintenance.
   11. k. Payment of salaries, fringe benefits, bonuses, and payroll taxes of paid campaign staff. Family members who perform actual work or services for a campaign and are not the candidate, candidate’s spouse, or candidate’s dependent children may be compensated for such work or services.
   12. l. Payment for check printing and financial institution banking service charges. Banking service charges include but are not limited to the costs of maintaining a committee bank account.
   13. m. Lease or rental of a campaign vehicle, provided that a detailed trip log that provides dates, miles driven, destination, and purpose is maintained. Noncampaign miles shall be reimbursed to the committee at an amount not to exceed the current rate of reimbursement allowed under the standard mileage rate for computations of business expenses pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. The purchase of a campaign vehicle is prohibited.
   14. n. Reimbursement to candidates and campaign workers for mileage driven for campaign purposes in a personal vehicle, provided that a detailed trip log that provides dates, miles driven, destination and purpose is maintained. Reimbursement shall be paid at an amount not to exceed the current rate of reimbursement allowed under the standard mileage rate for computations of business expenses pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code.
   15. o. Payment for food expenses and supplies for campaign-related activities, such as the purchase of food, beverages, and table service for fundraising events or campaign volunteers. However, except as provided in paragraph 4.25(1)“h,” the purchase of tickets for meals or fundraising events for other candidates is prohibited, and the purchase of groceries for the candidate or candidate’s family is also prohibited. Payment for meals for the candidate is permitted as an allowable expenditure for campaign purposes if the meal was associated with campaign-related activities.
   16. p. Payment of civil penalties and hearing costs assessed by the board.
   17. q. Payment for the services of attorneys, accountants, consultants, or other professional persons when those services relate to campaign activities.
   18. r. Subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals that circulate within the area represented by the office that a candidate is seeking or holds that contain information of a general nature about the state or political subdivision, and subscriptions that contain information useful to all candidates, such as those to national news outlets.
   19. s. Membership in service organizations, including a local chamber of commerce.
   20. t. Repayment of loans made to the committee. Candidates who make loans to their own committees shall not charge interest on the loans.
   21. u. Purchase of reports of other candidates and political committees so long as the reports’ contents are not used for solicitation or commercial purposes.
   22. v. Donations to charitable organizations unless the candidate or the candidate’s spouse, child, stepchild, brother, brother-in-law, stepbrother, sister, sister-in-law, stepsister, parent, parent-in-law, or stepparent is employed by the charitable organization and will receive a direct financial benefit from the donation.
   23. w. Contributions to federal, state, county, and city political party committees.
   24. x. Refunds to contributors when a contribution has been accepted in error or when a committee chooses to dispose of leftover funds by refunding them in prorated shares to contributors.
   25. y. Payment for items with a purchase price not to exceed $250 per person that are presented to committee workers in recognition of services to the committee.

   26. z. Expenses incurred with respect to an election recount as provided in Iowa Code section 50.48.

       aa. The sharing of information in any format, such as yard sign locations, email lists, or lists of registered voters, with another candidate’s committee.

2. 4.25(2)  Expenses that may be paid from campaign funds for educational and other expenses associated with the duties of office include but are not limited to the following items:

   1. a. Purchase or lease of office supplies and equipment, such as paper, copy machines, telephones, facsimile machines, computer hardware, software, and printers.
   2. b. Travel, lodging, and registration expenses associated with attendance at an educational conference of a state, national, or regional organization whose memberships and officers are primarily composed of state or local government officials or employees.
   3. c. Meals and other expenses incurred in connection with attending a local meeting to which the officeholder is invited and attends due to the officeholder’s official position as an elected official.
   4. d. Purchases of small, incidental items such as pencils, pens, rulers, and bookmarks provided to members of the public touring the offices of the state or a political subdivision. Such items, if intended for distribution on public property, shall not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate or the adoption or defeat of a ballot issue as prohibited in Iowa Code section 68A.505. For example, a bookmark bearing the state seal could be distributed on public property, while a bookmark that identified the donor as a candidate for office could not.
   5. e. Gifts purchased for foreign dignitaries when the officeholder is part of an official trip out of the country, such as a trade mission or exchange program.
   6. f. Printing of additional stationery and supplies above the standard allotment of the state or political subdivision.

3. 4.25(3)  Expenses that may be paid from campaign funds for constituency services include but are not limited to the following items:

   1. a. Mailings and newsletters sent to constituents, including holiday and other greeting cards.
   2. b. Polls and surveys conducted to determine constituent opinions.
   3. c. Travel expenses incurred in communicating with members of an elected official’s constituency, provided that a detailed trip log with dates, miles driven, destination, and purpose is maintained. Mileage reimbursement shall be paid at an amount not to exceed the current rate of reimbursement allowed under the standard rate for computations of business expenses pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. However, meal expenses are not allowable as expenses associated with constituency services under any circumstances.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 68A.301, 68A.302, and 68A.303.

[ARC 0235D, IAB 4/29/26, effective 6/3/26]