All monetary contributions received by a candidate for office must be deposited into an account established and designated for that purpose.  Expenditures from the account must be authorized by the candidate or a person named on the candidate's registration form.

Campaign contributions may be used for personal expenses of a candidate, the candidate's treasurer, or another individual under limited circumstances such as:

• reimbursement for or payments to cover lost earnings incurred as a result of campaigning;
• reimbursement for direct out-of-pocket expenses related to the election campaign and post-election activities; and
• for repayment of loans made by the candidate to political committees, although a candidate may not be reimbursed for more than $4,700 for loans to the candidate's own authorized committee.

By administrative rule, campaigns may reimburse candidates for the fair market value of expenditures that are both personal and campaign-related.  The rule provides, as an example, that a candidate may be reimbursed from their campaign for the portion of child care costs that occurred directly as a result of the candidate's campaign activities.  While the example exists in rule, no analogous provision exists in the Revised Code of Washington.

Expenses for the direct care, protection, and supervision of a child or person over whom the candidate has direct caregiving responsibility, incurred directly due to campaign activities, are an example of an out-of-pocket expense that may be reimbursed with campaign funds.