How to File a CA Form 497

The CA Form 497 compliance report is for:

– Contributions received that are $1000 or more in aggregate for the 90 days before an election.
– Expenses to support/oppose another candidate/committee that are also $1000 or more in aggregate for the 90 days before an election.

Setting up Your Form 497 Report in ISPolitical

When generating a 497 in ISPolitical, navigate to REPORTS > COMPLIANCE and set up the following required fields:

Filer
– Make sure the correct person/entity is selected if you have more than one Filer. If you only have one Filer (most common), then you won’t see this option.
Compliance Report
– Select the CA Form 497 from the listed report types.
Current Election
– Select the current election the committee is participating in.
From Date
– The From Date should always be the first day of the 90-day reporting period.
To Date
– The To Date is the day you are running this report on.

Generating the Form 497 Report

After entered the required information, generating a Form 497 is as easy as clicking “Generate” in ISPolitical.

1. Make sure you review your report and, when ready, click E-File Report to send it electronically to the state.
2. After you receive the confirmation the report was accepted, click on the “Mark As Filed” button.

Important Note:

Clicking the “Mark As Filed” button will allow you to get even more out of ISPolitical’s software. This will mark all transactions in the report as previously reported. This prevents transactions from being double reported later and provides an extra layer of protection from editing or accidental deletion.

How to Report In Kind Contributions on the 497

On the 497 report, the aggregate resets during the 90-day period.
Per the FPPC:
“A committee must file a Form 497 for each aggregated contribution of $1,000 or more from the same source. For example, if a committee reported a contribution of $2,000 on the Form 497 and later the same source made a $500 contribution, the Form 497 is not required as long as the contributor did not make future contributions that aggregated to $1,000 or more during the 90-day election cycle. “
While the above clause talks about Contributions Rec’d, the concept is the same for Contributions Made.
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