Quick Answer
The FINRA gifts-and-gratuities rule caps what a member or associated person (AP) may give a recipient tied to that recipient's employer's business: $300 per person per year effective March 30, 2026 (previously
Quick Answer: The FINRA gifts-and-gratuities rule caps what a member or associated person (AP) may give a recipient tied to that recipient's employer's business: $300 per person per year effective March 30, 2026 (previously $100). Gifts from the member and its APs to one recipient aggregate, and the firm must record each gift subject to the cap.
The requirement addresses the appearance and reality of buying influence. Passing its dollar limit does not establish that a gift complies with every applicable restriction. Other laws and firm policies must be assessed on their own facts.
The General Rule
No member or AP may directly or indirectly give anything of value, including gratuities, in excess of the FINRA gift limit per individual per year, to any person where the gift is in relation to the business of the recipient's employer.
The Limit and the Effective Date
| Period | Per-Person, Per-Year Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| On or after March 30, 2026 | $300 | FINRA "FINRA Forward" amendments |
| Before March 30, 2026 | $100 | Original gift limit |
Both numbers are tested. The exam may present a fact pattern dated before or after March 30, 2026, and the candidate must apply the limit in effect at the time of the gift. Older study materials and FAQs may still reference the $100 limit.
Aggregation
All covered gifts to a single recipient from the member and its APs are aggregated over the firm's chosen annual period. Procedures must specify calendar-year, fiscal-year or rolling aggregation beginning with the first gift to a recipient. A firm cannot route gifts through multiple APs to inflate the cap.
- Five $80 gifts from different APs to one recipient during the firm's chosen annual period aggregate to $400 and breach a $300 limit
- The aggregation runs across the member firm, not just one office or one team
- "In relation to the business of the recipient's employer" is the trigger; personal gifts unrelated to the recipient's job (see carve-outs below) do not aggregate
Recordkeeping
The member must retain a separate record of covered payments and gratuities under the applicable books-and-records requirements. Its procedures must ensure that covered gifts are reported, reviewed and maintained in records. The associated person giving the gift should not make the final employer-business classification alone.
A usable system supports gift valuation, recipient identification, annual aggregation and review of the employer-business connection. A dedicated register is one method; an integrated system can maintain separately identifiable gift records with usable links. FINRA does not prescribe one universal three-field template or prohibit cross-referencing.
For a gift to multiple recipients, the rule expressly requires each recipient's name and the pro rata value. Employer and purpose information are useful for coverage review, and firm procedures may require them. Those procedural requirements should be distinguished from the rule's actual text.
Exam Tip: Gotchas
- The $300 limit is per person per year, not per gift. For a firm using calendar-year aggregation, five $80 gifts to one recipient that year total $400 and breach the limit even though no single gift exceeds the cap. Fiscal-year and rolling aggregation are also permitted when specified in the firm's procedures.
- The amendments effective March 30, 2026 raised the limit to $300. Older study materials and FAQs may still reference $100. Know both numbers and the effective date for the exam. The conforming amendments to the parallel cash/non-cash compensation requirements (DPPs, variable contracts, mutual funds, corporate financing) raised those caps to $300 on the same date.
What Counts and What Does Not
What Counts as a Gift
- Tangible items (wine, electronics, branded merchandise above nominal value)
- Gift cards (any face value)
- Sports tickets given without member attendance (the member's rep does not attend with the recipient)
- Charitable donations made in the recipient's honor
What Does NOT Count
| Carve-Out | Why It Does Not Count |
|---|---|
| Gifts from the member to its own APs | The gifts rule itself excludes them; a product sales incentive for APs falls under the internal-arrangement conditions of the non-cash compensation rules instead |
| Gifts from a member or AP to individual retail customers | Governed by the firm's WSPs and other requirements (e.g., elder-abuse and unsuitability rules) |
| Personal gifts for personal occasions (weddings, baby births, bereavement) where there is no relationship to the recipient's business with the firm | The "in relation to the business" trigger is absent |
| Promotional items of nominal value bearing the firm's logo (pens, mugs, etc., generally well under the limit) | Below the line of meaningful business gifts |
| Business entertainment where the member's representative attends with the recipient (a meal, a ballgame) | FINRA's gift guidance treats an event ticket as a gift when no one from the firm accompanies the recipient, so a hosted event is entertainment rather than a gift. A gift handed over during the event still counts unless it fits another carve-out, such as a nominal-value logo item |
The personal-gift carve-out is fact-specific. A $500 wedding gift to a colleague who happens to also be a customer's compliance officer is plausibly personal if the friendship pre-dates and exists outside the business relationship; it is not plausibly personal if the only contact between the giver and recipient is the customer's account.
Exam Tip: Gotchas
- Business entertainment is NOT a gift if the member's representative attends with the recipient. A $500 dinner with a customer's portfolio manager that the rep attends is business entertainment, not a gift. A $500 dinner gift card sent to the same person without the rep attending is a gift and would breach the cap, and so would a $400 gift handed over at the dinner.
- Hosted entertainment is not "non-cash compensation" either. The non-cash compensation rules reach only compensation connected with selling or distributing covered products such as variable contracts or fund shares, not a firm entertaining a customer's employee.
- The personal-gift carve-out requires a genuinely personal relationship. A gift sent to a customer's child for the child's wedding is plausibly personal if the rep has known the family for years; it is not plausibly personal if the only contact between the rep and the family is the customer's account.
Interaction With Stricter Requirements
The FINRA gift limit is a maximum under that rule, not permission to ignore other requirements. The giver, recipient, purpose and activity determine which additional restrictions apply.
| Additional Requirement | Relevant Facts |
|---|---|
| Municipal-securities gift requirements | The regulated entity and municipal-securities or advisory business determine the applicable gift rule |
| ERISA fiduciary and prohibited-transaction duties | Personal consideration from a party dealing with a plan in connection with plan-asset transactions requires separate review |
| Political-contribution requirements | Covered contributions to relevant elected officials or candidates have distinct triggers and exceptions |
| Public-ethics laws and firm policies | The recipient's public role and jurisdiction can impose additional gift restrictions |
A gift within FINRA's limit can violate another applicable requirement. An ordinary holiday gift to a pension official does not automatically become a political contribution. The adviser rule's contribution definition concerns electoral purposes, election debts, and specified transition or inaugural expenses. Its two-year restriction concerns compensated advisory services after a covered contribution, subject to exceptions and exemptions.
The MSRB gift limit increased to $300 for FINRA-member dealers in June 2026. Municipal advisors and bank dealers have a December 1, 2026 compliance date, with voluntary early compliance available. Until then, those entities use the legacy $100 limit unless they elect early compliance. The parent's FINRA limit does not automatically govern a separate affiliate.
Exam Tip: Gotchas
- The dollar cap is one compliance check. Gift, public-ethics, fiduciary and political-contribution requirements have different triggers. A public recipient's title alone does not turn an ordinary gift into a political contribution or establish a two-year advisory time-out.
- Gift records must support the firm's required review. A low amount alone does not establish compliance. Identify the recipient, apply the chosen annual period and establish the employer-business connection from maintained information. Usable linked records can support the review; missing information must be remedied under the firm's procedures.
What Should You Check on Exam Day?
- Do you know the FINRA gift limit per person per year, and the date it rose from $100 to $300?
- Can you state why gifts to the same recipient from multiple associated persons at one firm must be aggregated?
- Can you tell a gift from business entertainment by whether the member's representative attends with the recipient, and do you know a gift handed over during the event still counts unless a carve-out such as a logo item applies?
- Can you identify additional gift, ethics, fiduciary or political-contribution restrictions from the giver, recipient, purpose and activity?