UK Government borrowing fell sharply to £11.6 billion in December as a spike in tax receipts and national insurance more than outweighed an uptick in spending, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing was £7.1 billion, or 38%, less than the same month in 2024.
It also came in below the £13 million that most economists had been forecasting.
Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks was £11.6 billion in December 2025.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) January 22, 2026
This was £7.1 billion less than in December 2024 but higher than in December 2023.
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Nevertheless, the ONS said the December borrowing figure represented the 10th highest for the month since records began in 1993, though not adjusted for inflation.
The figure represents the difference between what the Government spends on the public sector and what it makes from taxes and other income, therefore requiring it to borrow money or creating a surplus of cash.
Central government tax receipts were £7.7 billion higher year on year in December, due to a combination of income tax, corporation tax, VAT and the impact of higher national insurance contributions.
ONS senior statistician Tom Davies said: “Borrowing in December was substantially down on the same month in 2024, as a result of receipts being up strongly on last year whereas spending is only modestly higher.
“However, across the first nine months of the financial year as a whole, borrowing was fractionally lower than in the same period in 2024.”
Borrowing for the financial year so far, from April to December, dipped by £300 million, or 0.2%, compared with the same nine-month period in 2024.
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