Bulgaria's budget deficit hit 3.6bn euros by September 30, or 2.8% of forecast gross domestic product, preliminary finance ministry figures show. The data may still change.

The state took in 33.9bn euros in revenue, grants and donations from the start of January through the end of September. That's 68.4% of what the 2026 budget law had planned for the year. Revenue is up 3.4bn euros on the same nine months of 2025 — an 11% rise.

Most of the extra money came from taxes, up 2.4bn euros, or 9.8%, plus 1.5bn euros more in grants and donations. Non-tax revenue fell by 0.6bn euros, though, mainly because state-owned companies are paying out smaller dividends in 2026.

Spending, which includes Bulgaria's contribution to the EU budget, reached 37.5bn euros, or 66.1% of what's planned for the full year. A year earlier the figure stood at 33.7bn euros.

The ministry says most of the rise in spending comes from social and health insurance payments, including pensions, plus wages and capital spending. Pensions went up under the Swiss rule on July 1, 2025, and again on July 1, 2026. The minimum wage and public-sector pay rose in January 2026 to match 2025 inflation. Investment spending is climbing because of projects funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the municipal investment programme.

The central government had paid 0.9bn euros of Bulgaria's EU budget contribution by September 30. The ministry says that figure follows the EU's current rules on its own resources.

A day earlier the ministry released the figures for August. On a cash basis the deficit stood at 3.075bn euros then, or 2.4% of forecast GDP, up from 2.2bn euros (1.8%) at the end of July. The gap widened by about 900m euros in a single month — the finance ministry blames a pile-up of investment payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The 2026 budget was passed with a planned deficit of 5.7% of GDP for the full year.