Bulgaria's consolidated budget gap will hit 3.6 billion euros by September 30, 2026 — 2.8% of forecast gross domestic product — the finance ministry said, citing preliminary data and estimates.

By the end of September, the budget had taken in 33.9 billion euros in revenue, grants and donations, or 68.4% of what the 2026 budget law set for the full year. That's 3.4 billion euros, or 11%, more than in the same period of 2025.

Tax revenue rose by 2.4 billion euros, or 9.8%, and grants and donations added another 1.5 billion euros. Non-tax revenue fell by 0.6 billion euros, because state-owned companies are paying out less in dividends this year.

Spending, including Bulgaria's payments into the EU budget, reached 37.5 billion euros, or 66.1% of the year's plan. A year earlier, the figure stood at 33.7 billion euros.

Social security and health insurance payments, including pensions, keep rising. Pensions went up under the Swiss rule on July 1, 2025, and again on July 1, 2026. Staff costs are also climbing, driven by the new minimum wage that took effect in January 2026 and by pay raises to match 2025 inflation. Capital spending is higher too — the ministry says this comes from work on projects funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the municipal investment program.

By September 30, 2026, the central budget had paid 0.9 billion euros toward Bulgaria's contribution to the EU budget. The ministry said the amount was paid under current EU rules on own resources.

A day earlier, the ministry released the figures for August. At the end of that month, the cash-basis deficit stood at 3.075 billion euros, or 2.4% of forecast GDP, up from 2.2 billion euros, or 1.8%, in July. The gap widened by about 900 million euros in a single month, which the ministry blames mainly on a pile-up of large investment payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The 2026 budget plans for a deficit of 5.7% of GDP. Final figures for the nine-month period are still to come.