Government faced an €8 billion deficit in the first half of 2026
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In the first half of 2026, the Dutch government had a deficit of €8 billion. Government debt was the same in mid-2026 as it was at the end of 2025: €524 billion. That is 43.7 percent of all the money earned jointly by everyone and every company in the Netherlands (gross domestic product).
Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, the national statistics office) reported this. This is the largest deficit in the first half of a year since 2021. At that time, the government spent a great deal of money because of the coronavirus crisis.
In 2025, the deficit halfway through the year was almost €5 billion. Looking at the full year, from the third quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026, the government deficit was 1.9 percent of gross domestic product. The government spent more money than it received.
In the first half of 2026, the government spent €273 billion, which was 5 percent more than in the same period in 2025. Almost half of this money went toward social benefits. These benefits increased by €8 billion.
The government also spent more on wages and goods: this cost €92 billion, 5 percent more than the previous year. The Netherlands also paid almost €2 billion more to the European Union. Government revenue also increased, by 4 percent to €265 billion.
Taxes on wages and income rose particularly sharply, increasing by €5 billion (7 percent). Value-added tax revenue increased by €2 billion (5 percent). Revenue from corporate tax did fall, however: it was €1 billion lower, totaling €28 billion.
Government debt remained the same as at the end of 2025 because the government had already borrowed additional money at the end of 2025. As a result, spending and debt increased at different rates. Because the economy grew, debt as a percentage of gross domestic product fell from 44.7 percent at the end of 2025 to 43.7 percent in mid-2026.
The government deficit and debt are important indicators of a country's financial situation. European countries have agreed that a country may not have an annual deficit of more than 3 percent, and that its debt may not exceed 60 percent of gross domestic product.