The deficit of the state budget of the Czech Republic reached 194.5 billion crowns at the end of September 2026, the fourth-deepest deficit for this period since the independent republic was established.
The state budget deficit rose to 194.5 billion crowns at the end of September 2026, from 186.1 billion at the end of August. The Ministry of Finance reported this on 1 October 2026. The deficit at the end of the third quarter is the fourth-deepest since the independent Czech Republic was established; in the same period of 2025 it stood at 153.9 billion crowns.[1][2][3]
Revenue
Budget revenue rose year on year by 2.7 percent to 1.6 trillion crowns, mainly thanks to higher collection of compulsory insurance contributions and higher revenue from the European Union. Insurance contributions brought in 637.6 billion crowns, 6.5 percent more than a year earlier; EU revenue rose by 18.2 percent to 116.4 billion crowns.[1][2][3]
Tax revenue stayed at the previous year's level. According to the ministry, this is a consequence of this year's change in the budgetary allocation of taxes, which raised the share of municipalities and regions in the yield of income taxes and value added tax. The impact on the state budget over three quarters is 25.2 billion crowns.[1][2][3]
- Personal income tax: 147.7 billion crowns, 7.2 percent more year on year.
- Value added tax: 308.1 billion crowns, 4.1 percent more.
- Corporate income tax: 178.5 billion crowns, 1.7 percent more.
- Excise duties: 125.9 billion crowns, one percent more.
- Mineral oil tax: 61.2 billion crowns, 0.7 percent less; this reflected the temporary reduction of this tax, which the government introduced in spring because of rising fuel prices.
[1][2][3]
Expenditure
Expenditure rose year on year by 4.8 percent to 1.794 trillion crowns. The state paid out 718 billion crowns on social benefits (3.7 percent more), of which 554.3 billion were pensions. Unemployment support reached 20.5 billion crowns, 49 percent more year on year, which the ministry links to a change in the rules from the start of the year. Capital expenditure rose by 15.6 percent to 172.2 billion crowns, of which 67.8 billion crowns went to the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure.[1][2][3]
Budget for 2026
The approved budget assumes revenue of 2.118 trillion and expenditure of 2.428 trillion crowns, that is, a deficit of 310 billion crowns. Patria Finance chief economist Dominik Rusinko expects the planned deficit to be kept.[1][2]
Chronology
- — The state budget deficit reached 194.5 billion crowns at the end of September 2026 and, according to the news site iROZHLAS, is the fourth deepest since the independent Czech Republic was established. ČTK / České noviny iROZHLAS
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 1 October 2026
- Ekonomický deník — 1 October 2026
- Hospodářské noviny — 1 October 2026