How congressional disclosure amounts are reported
A standard periodic transaction report contains an amount checkbox, not a dollar figure. Rare amended forms can state an exact value instead. We preserve whichever form the House Clerk published.
The ladder
Ten standard brackets, from $1,001 at the bottom to an open-ended top rung. A filer normally ticks one. The table below is read from the same database the rest of this site uses, so it cannot drift from what our pages actually enforce. The third column is the size of the guess any estimate built on that rung is making.
| # | Bracket as filed | Width of the uncertainty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,001 – $15,000 | $14,000 |
| 2 | $15,001 – $50,000 | $35,000 |
| 3 | $50,001 – $100,000 | $50,000 |
| 4 | $100,001 – $250,000 | $150,000 |
| 5 | $250,001 – $500,000 | $250,000 |
| 6 | $500,001 – $1,000,000 | $500,000 |
| 7 | $1,000,001 – $5,000,000 | $4,000,000 |
| 8 | $5,000,001 – $25,000,000 | $20,000,000 |
| 9 | $25,000,001 – $50,000,000 | $25,000,000 |
| 10 | Over $50,000,000 | unbounded |
What the midpoint costs
For a filing that reports a bracket, any single dollar figure is an estimate. A common illustration is the midpoint: "$1,001 – $15,000" has a midpoint of $8,000.50. Our public record currently displays source amounts, not modeled gains or midpoint purchase values.
That is a real estimate with a knowable error. Take "$1,000,001 – $5,000,000". The midpoint is $3 million and the true value is anywhere across a $4 million span, so the estimate can differ by about $2 million, roughly two thirds of the midpoint — before any question of what the shares did afterwards. The "width of the uncertainty" column above is that error, per rung.
The related estimated-values guide below walks through a hypothetical calculation and its limits. It does not describe a live price or return feature on this site.
Sources
Keep reading
- What a disclosed trade estimate can and cannot tell youA worked hypothetical shows why an amount-range midpoint is not an execution price, verified holding, or realized profit.
- How to read a periodic transaction reportEvery field on the form, which three actually matter, and the two that are most often misread.
- The STOCK Act, explainedWhat the 2012 law actually requires members of Congress to disclose, who it covers, and the three things people most often get wrong about it.
General information about a public disclosure law. Not legal advice, not investment advice, and not affiliated with any government body.