Reading amounts
What reported lobbying amounts mean
A lobbying amount needs its reporting role, quarter, and disclosure state. Outside-registrant income and an organization's self-reported expenses are different measures and never become one total.
Reviewed Sep 5, 2026 · Examples cover Q1–Q2 2026 lobbying records and 119th Congress legislative records
Two reporting bases
An outside registrant reports income associated with work for a client. An organization lobbying on its own behalf reports expenses. Gov Influence sums only like fields within the same period and never adds outside income to self-reported expenses.
Worked Boeing example
For Q1 2026, the reviewed Boeing records produce $2,450,000 in self-reported expenses from one applicable in-house filing and $510,000 in outside-registrant income from eleven applicable filings. These are two labeled summaries, not a $2,960,000 lobbying total. For Q2, the generated summaries are $2,770,000 in self-reported expenses and $500,000 in outside income, but each is marked partially reported because an applicable field was unreported.
Rounding and thresholds
Official LDA guidance instructs filers reporting $5,000 or more for a quarter to round income or expenses to the nearest $10,000; amounts under $5,000 use the applicable less-than threshold indication. Separate registration thresholds determine when a lobbying relationship becomes registrable. A threshold is a filing rule, not evidence that the underlying activity was exactly zero.
Why null is not zero
Zero means the source explicitly reported zero. Null or unreported means the source did not supply a numeric value for that field. A profile keeps unreported, below-threshold, absent, and reported-zero states separate so a missing number cannot reduce a total silently.
How to read this on a profile
- Read the measure label before the dollar value.
- Confirm the quarter and the number of applicable filings.
- Check whether the summary is reported, partially reported, below threshold, or unavailable.
- Inspect source rows to see which records contributed a numeric input.
- Compare periods only when the page says the measures and completeness states are compatible.
Visitor checklist
- Income or expenses?
- Which quarter?
- How many applicable inputs?
- Were any values unreported or below threshold?
- Has the page kept zero separate from null?
- Are unlike categories being kept apart?