It is noted that the amount of €1.993 billion, relating to the rescheduling of payments from the regular budget, and an amount of €499 million, related to the rescheduling of investment expenditures, do not affect the General Government fiscal outcome. Additionally, an amount of €342 million in tax revenues from the first two months of the year is fiscally accounted for in 2024.
Excluding the aforementioned amounts, the primary balance surplus on a modified cash basis, compared to the budget targets, is estimated at €1.454 billion.
It should be highlighted that this amount for the five-month period includes the collection of part of the personal income tax, estimated at €665 million, which was originally projected to be collected in subsequent months. This earlier collection is due to the launch of the tax return submission application in mid-March.
According to data from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, during the period January–May 2025, net revenues of the state budget amounted to €28.969 billion, representing an increase of €1.632 billion or 6% above the target set in the explanatory report of the 2025 budget for the same period.
It should be noted that this amount includes both revenues (under the category “Sales of goods and services”) and VAT refunds amounting to €784.8 million related to transactions conducted in January 2025 for the completion of the new Concession Agreement of the Attiki Odos motorway, which pertain to 2024 and are fiscally neutral.
Specifically, revenues from the major categories of the state budget are as follows:
Revenues from “Taxes” amounted to €26.954 billion, exceeding the target by €1.677 billion or 6.6%, primarily due to:
a) the early collection of part of the personal income tax estimated at €665 million, as mentioned above, following the mid-March activation of the tax return submission system, and
b) better-than-expected performance in the collection of current-year taxes (VAT, excise duties, etc.) and improved collection of previous-year income taxes paid in installments through the end of February 2025.
Regarding the main taxes within this category:
VAT revenues reached €10.995 billion, exceeding the target by €271 million.
Excise duties revenues totaled €2.789 billion, exceeding the target by €58 million.
Property tax revenues amounted to €1.530 billion, exceeding the target by €139 million.
Income tax revenues reached €9.167 billion, exceeding the target by €967 million, of which personal income tax increased by €817 million, other income taxes by €221 million, while corporate income tax was €70 million below the target due to advanced payments of monthly installments from the previous fiscal year.
Revenues from “Social Contributions” amounted to €25 million, in line with the target.
Revenues from “Transfers” totaled €3.281 billion, slightly below the target by €2 million as set in the 2025 budget explanatory report. An amount of €1.346 billion was collected from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, in line with the target, while €1.608 billion related to Public Investment Program revenues was €151 million below target.
Revenues from “Sales of Goods and Services” amounted to €1.450 billion, which includes the €784.8 million mentioned above. Excluding this amount, revenues from this category totaled €665 million, exceeding the target by €247 million.
Revenues from “Other Current Revenues” reached €1.079 billion, exceeding the target by €78 million. Of this amount, €117 million relates to Public Investment Program revenues, which were €3 million below target.
Revenue refunds amounted to €3.819 billion and include a VAT refund of €784.8 million related to the new Attiki Odos Concession Agreement, which is fiscally accounted for in 2024. Excluding this amount, tax refunds totaled €3.034 billion, exceeding the target of €2.686 billion by €348 million.
Total revenues of the Public Investment Program amounted to €1.725 billion, falling short of the target (€1.880 billion) by €154 million
In May 2025 alone, net revenues of the state budget reached €5.909 billion, exceeding the monthly target by €1.403 billion, mainly due to the collection of the fifth installment from the Recovery and Resilience Facility amounting to €1.346 billion, which was originally scheduled for April.
Specifically, revenues by major category in May were as follows:
Tax revenues amounted to €4.945 billion, exceeding the target by €316 million or 6.8%. This increase is mainly attributable to personal income tax, supported by the early activation of the tax return submission system.
For major taxes in this category:
VAT revenues reached €2.117 billion, slightly below the target by €5 million.
Excise duties amounted to €600 million, €3 million below target.
Property tax revenues totaled €191 million, €54 million below target.
Income tax revenues reached €1.569 billion, exceeding the target by €312 million, primarily due to increased personal income tax collections (€227 million) resulting from earlier tax return submissions.
Social Contributions amounted to €5 million, consistent with the target.
Transfers totaled €1.461 billion, exceeding the target by €1.336 billion due to the collection of the fifth Recovery and Resilience Facility installment (€1.346 billion), originally forecast for April. Public Investment Program revenues amounted to €95 million, €8 million below target.
Sales of Goods and Services revenues reached €98 million, exceeding the target by €25 million.
Other Current Revenues amounted to €179 million, exceeding the target by €27 million. Of this amount, €9 million relates to Public Investment Program revenues, €3 million below target.
Refunds totaled €778 million, surpassing the target (€478 million) by €301 million.
Public Investment Program revenues for May amounted to €104 million, €11 million below the target (€115 million).
Expenditures of the state budget during January–May 2025 totaled €27.094 billion, falling short of the target (€29.812 billion) by €2.718 billion, and decreasing by €325 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Within the regular budget, payments were €2.218 billion below the target, mainly due to the rescheduling of transfer payments to Social Security Funds and other General Government entities by €1.539 billion and the timing of cash payments for defense procurement programs amounting to €455 million. These amounts do not affect the General Government’s fiscal results.
Notable transfers include:
Transfers to hospitals and regional health authorities (YPE – PEDY) totaling €588 million,
A €400 million transfer to cover the cost of public utility service provision in the electricity sector (YKO) as stipulated by Article 55 of Law 4508/2017 (Official Gazette 200 A’),
A €290 million grant to the National Central Procurement Authority (E.K.A.P.Y.) for the procurement of pharmaceuticals, products, and health services on behalf of public hospitals,
Grants to transport organizations (OASA, OASTH, and OSE) amounting to €124 million, and
Grants to Higher Education Institutions totaling €113 million.
Payments related to investment expenditures amounted to €3.729 billion, €499 million below the target set in the 2025 budget explanatory report, and €685 million less compared to payments in the corresponding period of 2024.
