In the first two months of 2026, the financial situation of the federal and state governments improved compared to the previous year. According to Statistics Austria, the net financing balance of the federal government was minus 2.2 billion euros, which is an improvement of 897 million euros compared to 2025. For the states, including Vienna, the deficit was 439 million euros, representing an improvement of 943 million euros.

Budget: Revenues Increase More Than Expenditures

The federal government benefited from the fact that, as in 2025, revenues developed more favorably than expenditures. According to the Ministry of Finance, federal disbursements amounted to 19.3 billion euros, which was 400 million or two percent higher than in the same period of the previous year. Receipts in the first two months amounted to 17.1 billion and were thus 1.3 billion or eight percent above the level of the previous year.

Additional expenses for the federal government arose mainly in the area of pensions, among other things due to the legally required adjustment of retirement benefits, as well as in the labor market area due to increased use of unemployment benefits and emergency assistance. The most savings in expenditures were made in the climate sector. By February, total disbursements amounted to 220.1 million, which was 461.3 million less than in the same period of the previous year. This is essentially due to declines in thermal and energy renovation and the abolition of the climate fund.

Income Taxes Rise Significantly

Revenues were particularly helped by the assessed income tax with an increase of 21.3 percent and the wage tax with an increase of 4.8 percent. Revenues from value-added tax rose by 4.3 percent, and those from the mineral oil tax by a notable 24.5 percent. In contrast, inflows from corporate tax fell by 4.5 percent. On the other hand, transfers to municipalities and states increased significantly by 8.1 and 7.2 percent, respectively.

As for the states, in the first two months of 2026, in all except Styria and Carinthia, receipts in operational management increased more than disbursements. In Salzburg, Tyrol, Burgenland, and Vorarlberg, the latter even decreased, in Vorarlberg by more than 20 percent. The overall net financing balance only worsened in Styria and Burgenland. There was a strong improvement of almost 582 million in Lower Austria, which had a particularly high increase in the deficit in the previous year.

The fact that these state figures are already available is new. As a sort of side agreement of the Stability Pact, it was established that the budget development of the states must now be published monthly via Statistics Austria. Previously, even the Ministry of Finance was in the dark regarding the data of the individual federal states until they were published by Statistics Austria at the end of March of the following year.

(APA/Red)

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