A primary surplus of 3,650 million euros, compared to a target of a primary surplus of 1,243 million euros and a primary surplus of 5,343 million euros for the same period in 2025, was recorded by the budget for the January–May period, according to final data from the Ministry of Finance.
Excluding an amount of 31 million euros related to the deferral of payments for defense procurement programs, an amount of 473 million euros related to the deferral of investment payments, and an amount of 64 million euros relating to the deferral of transfer payments to General Government entities, which do not affect the General Government’s fiscal result, as well as an amount of 135 million euros from the second installment of the fee for the concession of a casino operating license at Elliniko, which is recorded in the budget over the term of the concession, an amount of 884 million euros from early revenues of the TAA and an amount of 574 million euros relating to early cash revenues of the Public Investment Program (PIP), the surplus in the primary balance on a modified cash basis relative to budget targets amounts to 246 million euros.
It should be noted that the primary balance on an accrual basis differs from the balance on a cash basis. Furthermore, the above figures pertain to the primary balance of the Central Administration and not to that of the General Government as a whole, which also includes the fiscal results of legal entities and the subsectors of local government organizations (LGOs) and local public entities (LPEs).
Note: The January 2026 revenue figures include the amounts from the transactions required to finalize the Service Concession Agreement for the financing, operation, maintenance, and operation of the Egnatia Odos highway and its three (3) vertical road axes for 35 years, which was ratified by Law 5260/2025 (A’ 229).
Specifically:
- the amount of 306 million euros, representing 24% VAT on the transaction price, was paid by the concessionaire to the Greek State, recorded under the category “Taxes,” and accompanied by a tax refund of the same amount.
- Subsequently, the same amount of 306 million euros was paid again to the Greek State and recorded under the category “Sales of goods and services.”
During the period from January to May 2026, net revenue for the state budget amounted to 30,216 million euros, representing an increase of 2,528 million euros compared to the target set for the corresponding period in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget.
This overperformance is mainly due to the receipt, in April, of the seventh installment from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), amounting to 884 million euros, which had been projected to be received in June 2026, as well as to increased Public Investment Program (PIP) revenues of 574 million euros.
More specifically, revenues from the major categories of the state budget are as follows:
I. Revenues in the “Taxes” category amounted to 28,031 million euros and include: (a) the amount of 306 million euros from the Egnatia Motorway Concession Agreement, as mentioned above, and (b) the amount of 135 million euros from the second installment of the fee for the concession of a casino operating license at Elliniko, which was scheduled to be collected at the end of 2025.
Excluding the above amounts, tax revenues totaled 27,590 million euros, an increase of 171 million euros, or 0.6%, compared to the target.
Specifically, regarding the main taxes in this category, the following observations can be made:
- VAT revenue amounted to 12,340 million euros, exceeding the target by 650 million euros. It should be noted that if the amount of 306 million euros from the aforementioned concession agreement is excluded, VAT revenue is 344 million euros higher than the target.
- Excise tax revenue amounted to 2,584 million euros and fell short of the target by 224 million euros.
- Property tax revenue amounted to 1,509 million euros, an increase of 31 million euros compared to the target.
- Income tax revenue amounted to 8,849 million euros, exceeding the target by 7 million euros, of which: Personal Income Tax increased by 211 million euros, while Corporate Income Tax decreased by 105 million euros and Other Income Taxes decreased by 99 million euros compared to the target.
II. Revenue in the “Social Contributions” category amounted to 23 million euros, a decrease of 2 million euros compared to the target.
III. Revenues in the “Transfers” amounted to 3,319 million euros, an increase of 1,306 million euros compared to the target, mainly due to the earlier receipt of 884 million euros from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as mentioned above. In addition, 2,279 million euros relate to Public Investment Program (PIP) revenues, which exceeded the target by 412 million euros.
IV. Revenues in the “Sales of Goods and Services” category amounted to 1,098 million euros and include 306 million euros from the Egnatia Motorway Concession Agreement, as mentioned above. Excluding this amount, the above revenue totaled 792 million euros, an increase of 278 million euros compared to the target.
V. Revenues in the “Other Current Revenues” category amounted to 1,178 million euros, an increase of 258 million euros compared to the target. An amount of 240 million euros relates to Public Investment Program (PIP) revenue, which was 162 million euros higher than the target.
Revenue refunds amounted to 3,435 million euros, an increase of 231 million euros over the target (3,204 million euros) included in the explanatory report for the 2026 Budget, due to a VAT refund of 306 million euros from the Egnatia Motorway Concession Agreement, as mentioned above.
Total revenue from the Public Investment Program (PIP) amounted to 2,519 million euros, an increase of 574 million euros compared to the target (1,945 million euros) included in the explanatory report for the 2026 Budget.
May
Specifically, in May 2026, total net revenue for the state budget amounted to 5,040 million euros, an increase of 418 million euros compared to the monthly target.
More specifically, revenues from the major categories of the state budget are as follows:
I. Revenue in the “Taxes” category amounted to 5,367 million euros, an increase of 289 million euros, or 5.7%, compared to the target.
Specifically, regarding the main taxes in this category, the following is observed:
- VAT revenue amounted to 2,342 million euros, exceeding the target by 91 million euros.
- Excise tax revenue amounted to 561 million euros, falling short of the target by 44 million euros.
- Revenue from property taxes amounted to 195 million euros, exceeding the target by 11 million euros.
- Income tax revenue amounted to 1,763 million euros, exceeding the target by 192 million euros, of which personal income tax increased by 161 million euros, corporate income tax increased by 7 million euros, and other income taxes increased by 25 million euros.
II. Revenue in the “Social Contributions” category amounted to 4 million euros, a decrease of 1 million euros compared to the target.
III. Revenues in the “Transfers” category amounted to 191 million euros, an increase of 99 million euros compared to the target. An amount of 181 million euros relates to Public Investment Program (PIP) revenues, which increased by 99 million euros compared to the target.
IV. Revenues in the “Sales of Goods and Services” category amounted to 110 million euros, an increase of 16 million euros compared to the target.
V. Revenue in the “Other current revenue” category amounted to 202 million euros, an increase of 40 million euros compared to the target. An amount of 26 million euros relates to Public Investment Program (PIP) revenue, which is 14 million euros higher than the target.
Revenue refunds amounted to 834 million euros, an increase of 25 million euros over the target (809 million euros). Total revenue from the Public Investment Program (PIP) amounted to 208 million euros, an increase of 113 million euros compared to the target (95 million euros).
Expenditures
State Budget expenditures for the period January–May 2026 amounted to 30,112 million euros, an increase of 250 million euros compared to the target (29,863 million euros), as set out in the explanatory report for the 2026 Budget. They also increased by 3,019 million euros compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
In the Regular Budget section, payments are 723 million euros higher than the target.
Notable transfers include the following:
I. The subsidy to the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services in the amount of 825 million euros,
II. The grant to the Social Security Welfare Benefits Agency in the amount of 1,159 million euros,
III. A grant of 915 million euros to the National Central Health Procurement Authority (EKAPY) for the procurement of pharmaceuticals, health products, and health services on behalf of public hospitals,
IV. Transfers to hospitals and primary health care totaling 520 million euros,
V. Subsidies to public transportation agencies (OASA, OASTH, and OSE) totaling 169 million euros,
VI. A subsidy to the Information Society amounting to 131 million euros for the payment of the FUEL PASS.
Payments under the investment expenditure category amounted to 4,185 million euros, a decrease of 473 million euros compared to the target included in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget. However, they were 456 million euros higher than the corresponding payments in 2025.
It should be noted that in May, expenditures were incurred for the Greek State’s participation in the capital increases of PPC S.A. and DES ADMIE S.A., amounting to 1,289 million euros and 259 million euros, respectively, which, as financial transactions, are fiscally neutral.