Hungary’s public finances are stable, and the 2026 budget provides all necessary resources for government programmes supporting families, pensioners and domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, despite the ongoing war and a negative external economic environment, the National Economy Ministry (NGM) said on Monday.
In the introduction to its rapid report on the central subsystem of public finances, excluding local governments, the ministry highlighted measures such as the fixed 3 per cent Otthon Start home purchase programme, fixed 3 per cent SME loans, the doubling of the family tax allowance, personal income tax exemption for mothers raising two or three children, the 13th and 14th month pensions, and the Demján Sándor Programme.
The ministry stressed that these measures are being implemented while maintaining budgetary stability, adding that the government remains committed to spending Hungarian taxpayers’ money on Hungarian families and businesses rather than on the war or Ukraine.
According to the NGM, in the first month of 2026 the central subsystem of public finances closed with a surplus of 32.3 billion forints. Within the subsystem, the central budget recorded a deficit of 98.6 billion forints, while separated state funds showed a surplus of 39.2 billion forints and social security funds posted a surplus of 91.7 billion forints.
Tax and contribution revenues within the central subsystem increased by 9.0 per cent year on year. Consumption-related taxes rose by 8 per cent, including a 7 per cent increase in value-added tax revenues compared to January of the previous year.
The report also noted that revenues from European Union programmes totalled 240.3 billion forints in the first month of the year. A significant portion of this amount came from reimbursements linked to payment claims under the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme Plus (IKOP Plus), which were accepted by the European Commission at the end of October. The unusually high revenue was partly due to the Commission transferring a substantial sum originally due in December only in early January, citing liquidity constraints in the EU budget.
Higher expenditure by budgetary institutions was largely driven by the payment of the so-called weapon allowance, the ministry added.
Interest expenditures totalled 179.3 billion forints by the end of January, which was 206.4 forints billion lower than in the same period last year.
Spending on pensions and healthcare exceeded last year’s levels. In January, a total of 593.3 forints billion was paid out for pensions and pension-type benefits, while 232.4 billion forints was spent on curative and preventive healthcare services.
The National Economy Ministry said it will publish its detailed report on the January position of the central subsystem of public finances on 23 February.
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