Primary surplus of €6.5B in the eight-month period

However, after adjusting for timing differences regarding Public Investment Program payments, transfers to General Government entities, and the second installment of the price for the Hellinikon casino license, the fiscally comparable surplus narrows to €185 million.

Data indicate that August saw a further surplus in state revenue collection. Conversely, the eight-month period as a whole shows an expenditure overrun of €1.2 billion relative to targets; this was driven primarily by the acceleration of spending ahead of the August deadline for the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), as well as by support measures implemented following the outbreak of the crisis in the Middle East—such as the “fuel pass” and allowances for families with children. Specifically, according to provisional state budget execution data announced by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, the general balance for the eight-month period of January–August shows a deficit of €508 million; this compares to a projected deficit of €1.611 billion included in the 2026 Budget explanatory report for the corresponding period of 2026, and a surplus of €1.964 billion for the corresponding period of 2025.

The primary result on a modified cash basis stood at a surplus of €6.5 billion, compared to a target of €4.989 billion and a primary surplus of €8.499 billion for the same period in 2025.

Excluding an amount of €573 million related to the timing difference of Public Investment Programme (PIP) payments and an amount of €618 million related to the timing difference of transfer payments to General Government entities—neither of which affects the General Government result in fiscal terms—as well as an amount of €135 million from the second installment of the fee for the casino operating license at Hellinikon (which is fiscally recorded over the years of the concession), the… The surplus in the primary result on a modified cash basis, relative to budget targets, amounts to €185 million.

Furthermore, revenues for January 2026 included amounts derived from the transactions required to finalize the Service Concession Agreement for the financing, operation, maintenance, and exploitation of the Egnatia Odos motorway and its three vertical road axes for a period of 35 years.

Specifically:

– An amount of €306 million, representing the 24% VAT on the transaction price, was remitted by the concessionaire to the Greek State; it was recorded under the “Taxes” category and was accompanied by an offsetting tax refund of an equal amount.

– Subsequently, this same amount of €306 million was remitted again to the Greek State and recorded under the “Sales of goods and services” category. Performance over the eight-month period
During the January–August 2026 period, net state budget revenue amounted to €51.317 billion, exceeding the target set for the corresponding period in the 2026 Budget explanatory report by €2.297 billion.

However, the targets set in the explanatory report included the collection of €1.258 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in June; of this amount, €884 million was collected earlier—in April—while the remaining €374 million is expected to be collected within the current year. Excluding the RRF funds, net revenue exceeded the target by €2.671 billion.

Tax revenue

Tax revenue amounted to €49.527 billion and includes:

(a) The sum of €306 million from the Egnatia Odos concession agreement, as previously mentioned. (b) The amount of €135 million from the second installment of the fee for granting the casino operating license at Hellinikon, which was scheduled for collection at the end of 2025.

Excluding the aforementioned amounts, tax revenues totaled €49.086 billion, exceeding the target by €1.399 billion or 2.9%.

Revenue refunds
Revenue refunds amounted to €6.101 billion, an increase of €442 million compared to the target (€5.659 billion) included in the explanatory report for the 2026 Budget; this was primarily due to the €306 million VAT refund related to the Egnatia Odos Concession Agreement, as previously mentioned.

Public Investment Program revenues

Revenues from the Public Investment Program (PIP) totaled €3.424 billion, exceeding the target (€3.120 billion) included in the explanatory report for the 2026 Budget by €304 million.

The precise breakdown across state budget revenue categories will be determined upon the issuance of the final report.