Greek Budget Beats Forecasts as Tax Revenue Surges

Τhe Greek state budget ran a deficit of 389 million euros in the first seven months of 2026, well inside the 1.323 billion euro shortfall the government had penciled in for the period, according to preliminary Finance Ministry data on execution of the state budget. The result marks a sharp reversal from the same period last year, when the budget posted a surplus of 2.168 billion euros.

Tax collection beats target

Net revenue for the January through July period reached 45.207 billion euros, a stated 1.975 billion euros above target. Part of that gain reflects timing rather than genuine outperformance. The government’s original target had assumed Greece would collect 1.258 billion euros from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Fund in June, but 884 million euros of that amount had already arrived earlier, in April, while the remaining 374 million euros is still expected later this year. Stripping out the Recovery Fund disbursement, net revenue ran 2.349 billion euros ahead of target.

Tax revenue, the core driver of the state’s income, totaled 42.916 billion euros for the