Hungary's Central Budget Gap at HUF 5,500 Bn

Hungary's cash flow-based general government deficit reached HUF 5,738.7bn at the end of December, the Ministry of National Economy confirmed in a detailed reading of data on Thursday.

As MTI reports, the central budget gap reached HUF 5,500.1 billion and the social insurance funds were HUF 245.9 billion in the red, but separate state funds had a surplus of HUF 7.3 billion.

The ministry said a European Union transfer expected by year-end had been delayed until the first half of January because of a liquidity squeeze in Brussels, adding HUF 248 billion to the 2025 deficit.

Interest expenditures climbed by HUF 584.7 billion to HUF 4,197.8 billion, it added.

Revenue from taxes and contributions rose 8.0%, including a 9.5% rise in revenue from taxes on consumption.

Spending on public transportation and utilities increased by HUF 344.5 billion to HUF 2,652.3 billion, but expenditures on the regulated utilities price scheme for households was practically flat.

The ministry highlighted government measures supporting families, pensioners, young people and businesses, including a subsidised credit scheme for first-time home buyers, fixed 3% loans for SMEs, higher tax allowances for families raising children, personal income tax exemptions for mothers of three, food vouchers for pensioners and the Demjan Sandor Programme for scaling up local SMEs.

It added that those programmes had been implemented while the government maintained fiscal stability amid the negative external economic environment.

Calculated according to European Union accounting rules, the full-year deficit reached 5% of GDP, in line with the target, the ministry said.

Budget revenue rose 2.9% to HUF 39,191.6 billion in 2025. Expenditures increased 6.9% to HUF 44,930.4 billion.

The detailed report shows Hungary's central budget debt rose by HUF 5,060.7 billion in 2025. Net forint issues accounted for HUF 3,874.3 billion of the increase and net FX issues for HUF 2,405.5 billion. The firmer forint reduced the debt by HUF 1,153.6 billion.