skip navigation
Here's how you know US flag signifying that this is a United States Federal Government website

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

SSL

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Federal Election Commission | United States of America
How to report

Repaying operating expenditure debt

Reporting on Form 3X

Party committees report making debt payments on Form 3X. The schedule and line number used to report the payment will vary depending on the type of activity.

  • If the committee is paying a debt for an operating expenditure that is paid for with 100% federal funds and is not Federal Election Activity (FEA), report the debt payment on Schedule B, Line 21(b).
  • If the committee is paying a debt for an operating expenditure that is allocated between federal and nonfederal accounts, report the debt payments on Schedule H4, Line 21(a).
  • If the committee is paying a debt for an independent expenditure, report the debt payment on Schedule E.
  • If the committee is paying a debt for a coordinated party expenditure, report the debt payment on Schedule F.
  • If the committee is paying a debt for Federal Election Activity (FEA) that is eligible for allocation between federal and Levin accounts, report the debt payment on Schedule H6, Line 30(a).
Party committee reporting example debt payment Form 3X Schedule B

In this example, the party committee incurred a debt for an operating expenditure. The party committee reports paying the debt to Colonial Law Firm as an operating expenditure on Schedule B, supporting Line 21(b). It includes the vendor's address, payment date, payment amount, and clear purpose of disbursement, "Debt Repayment: Legal Services."

In addition, the payment will also be disclosed on Schedule D as a “payment this period.” The debt’s outstanding balance at the end of the reporting period will be reduced by the payment amount. The debt will be continuously reported on Schedule D until completely paid off.

Party committee reporting example of debt payment on Form 3X Schedule D

The party committee also shows the debt payment to Colonial Law Firm on Schedule D, supporting Line 10. It shows the vendor's address and a clear debt purpose, "Legal Services." Additionally, the committee shows the $10,500 debt outstanding at the beginning of the period, $0 incurred this period, $2,500 paid this period, and $8,000 outstanding at the close of this period. Since the committee still owes debt to Colonial Law Firm, it will continue disclosing a Schedule D for this debt on future reports until it is paid.

Note that when the committee itemizes a payment to a credit card company, a payroll company, or reimburses a committee staff member, the committee must also itemize, as memo entry, payments to the original vendor. For payments on Schedule B, memo entries are required for any original vendor for whom payments exceed the $200 threshold during the calendar year. For payments on Schedules H4 or H6, memo entries are required regardless of the amount. The memo entry must include the name and address of the vendor, the purpose of the disbursement and the amount of the disbursement.