UK Budget Surplus Highest On Record

(RTTNews) - The UK government registered the largest budget surplus on record in January due to higher tax receipts, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.

The public sector surplus rose to GBP 30.4 billion from GBP 14.5 billion in the same period last year.

This was GBP 6.3 billion above the Office for Budget Responsibility's November 2025 forecast and also the highest surplus since records began in 1993.

In January, tax revenue is always higher than in other months because of receipts from self-assessed taxes. Central government tax receipts increased GBP 13.3 billion to GBP 109.7 billion. Meanwhile, current expenditure decreased GBP 0.6 billion to GBP 86.1 billion in January.

In the financial year to January, public sector net borrowing was GBP 112.1 billion, which was GBP 14.6 billion or 11.5 percent less than in the same 10-month period a year ago. Borrowing was estimated at 3.7 percent of gross domestic product in the financial year to January.

At the end of January, public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was estimated at 92.9 percent of GDP.