Guidance for Candidates and Agents at local government elections in England

You should ensure that a system is in place to keep records of all your candidate spending so that you can comply with your reporting responsibilities after the election. Election agents are responsible for reporting spending after the election.

What you need to record

For each item of spending, you must record the following information to include in your spending return after the election:

• what the spending was for – for example, leaflets or advertising
• the name and address of the supplier
• the amount or value
• the date that you spent the money

All costs must include VAT, even if you can recover VAT payments. 

You must keep invoices or receipts for any payments of £20 or over.1

The agent may want to also keep copies of each example of campaign material (such as letters or leaflets) used in case there is a need to refer back to it.

You must also record details of spending where:

• you make use of items that have been provided to you 
• you authorise spending to be incurred by someone else

See sections on notional spending and local campaigning for more details.

For information on the details required in the spending return, please see Completing your return.