Actual revenues to the general fund of the state budget from taxes and fees controlled by the State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS) amounted to UAH 1 trillion 246 billion in January-December 2025, which is 20.2% or UAH 209.3 billion more than last year, according to a publication on the institution’s website.
According to the STS, despite an increase in planned indicators during the year by more than UAH 100 billion, the annual revenue plan was fulfilled by 97.4%.
According to the acting head of the State Tax Service, Lesya Karnaukh, quoted in the report, the stable over-fulfillment of targets during the first half of the year created the necessary financial reserve, which made it possible to avoid significant shortfalls at the end of the year.
It is noted that in the structure of the main sources of budget revenues for the 12 months of 2025, the largest share was provided by personal income tax and fees, which amounted to UAH 362.9 billion. Value added tax (including budget refunds) brought UAH 306.5 billion to the budget, and corporate income tax brought UAH 284.7 billion. In addition, excise tax revenues amounted to UAH 163.9 billion, while rent payments provided UAH 48.4 billion.
Karnaukh separately highlighted the dynamics of VAT budget refunds, which totaled UAH 179.6 billion for the year. At the same time, the monthly refund rate during the year was not less than UAH 13 billion.
“Today, businesses have to reorient significant financial resources and invest in recovery and relocation. I am grateful to everyone who does not give up,” said the acting head of the State Tax Service.
She also added that the achievement of these indicators in the context of war, shelling, and energy challenges is the result of the responsibility of each taxpayer.
The 2026 state budget provides for UAH 298.8 billion in funding for the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved the state budget for 2026. The document provides for a significant expansion of investment in human capital: UAH 298.8 billion is allocated for education and science, which is UAH 85.4 billion more than in 2025,” the Ministry of Education said in a statement.
Key areas of funding include: education — UAH 278.7 billion (+UAH 79.8 billion by 2025); educational infrastructure and investment projects — UAH 17 billion, including UAH 6.2 billion for shelters in schools and kindergartens; free school meals — UAH 14.4 billion to provide meals for 3.5 million students in grades 1–11; textbooks — UAH 2.1 billion is allocated for the purchase of textbooks for grades 4 and 9; scholarships for students — UAH 6.6 billion.
It is also planned to allocate UAH 19.9 billion to science, in particular, almost UAH 3 billion for basic funding of universities and scientific institutions based on the results of state certification; UAH 998 million for research centers of advanced experience; UAH 100 million for a new competition for applied developments in partnership with business; UAH 300 million for competitive research.
“Education and science remain among the key priorities of the state in 2026. The increase in funding demonstrates that Ukraine is consistently investing in human potential, technological strength, and future sustainability — the foundation of our victory and development,” the ministry emphasized.
As reported, the 2024 state budget allocated UAH 171.2 billion to finance education, while the 2025 state budget allocates UAH 197.3 billion to finance education.
The Law “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026,” which the Verkhovna Rada adopted on December 3, provided for an increase in expenditures to support the agricultural sector by almost 47% compared to the previous year, or by UAH 4.5 billion, to UAH 14.1 billion, according to the Ministry of Finance.
According to the report, the 2026 state budget provides for UAH 9.5 billion to finance subsidies per hectare for frontline territories, insurance of agricultural products, and UAH 0.2 billion of this amount for irrigation/land reclamation.
The 2026 state budget provides for support for farmers (loans, subsidies per 1 hectare, subsidies for cows, goats, and sheep) in the amount of UAH 2.6 billion. The government has allocated UAH 2 billion for the humanitarian demining of agricultural land.
In addition, the state budget provides for the replenishment of the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” entrepreneurship development fund with UAH 18 billion, the innovation fund with UAH 7.4 billion, and business support programs with UAH 4.9 billion to support business. UAH 1.9 billion and UAH 0.6 billion will be allocated to the decarbonization and energy efficiency fund, respectively.
The largest share of cash expenditures from Ukraine’s general fund budget for January-October 2025 was spent on wages and benefits, amounting to UAH 1.26 trillion, according to the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in October, UAH 133.1 billion was allocated to wages and accruals, which is 39.9% of the total expenditures of the general fund for the month. Compared to the same period in 2024, labor costs increased by UAH 220.7 billion, or 21.2%, over ten months, including UAH 19.9 billion, or 17.6%, in October.
Expenditures on goods and services for January-October 2025 amounted to UAH 458 billion, including UAH 60.7 billion in October, or 14.5% of the total. In the first ten months of 2024, these expenditures amounted to UAH 416.9 billion, including UAH 53 billion in October, which indicates a significant increase in purchases of goods and services for the budget sector.
In January-October, UAH 524.4 billion, or 16.6% of all general fund expenditures, was allocated to social security—the payment of pensions, benefits, and scholarships. This is UAH 58.4 billion, or 12.5% more than in the same period last year. At the same time, in October 2025, social expenditures were lower than a year earlier—UAH 49.4 billion versus UAH 54.2 billion.
Expenditures on subsidies and current transfers to enterprises, institutions, and organizations for ten months amounted to UAH 384.4 billion, or 12.1% of the total, including UAH 37.3 billion in October. Compared to January-October 2024, these expenditures increased by UAH 117.9 billion, or 44.2%, reflecting the expansion of support for certain sectors of the economy and critical infrastructure.
Servicing the national debt cost the general fund of the state budget UAH 279.9 billion, or 8.8% of all expenditures, in the first ten months of 2025. In October, UAH 33.6 billion was allocated for these purposes. This is UAH 36.3 billion more than in the same period last year, which is due to both an increase in the volume of debt and a change in borrowing conditions.
Finally, UAH 156.3 billion, or 4.9% of general fund expenditures for January-October, was used for transfers to local budgets, including UAH 16.9 billion in October. Compared to the first ten months of 2024, these expenditures increased by UAH 9.3 billion, or 6.3%.
Ukraine’s state budget revenues for January-October 2025 amounted to UAH 2.97 trillion, including general fund revenues of UAH 2.11 trillion, which is 26.4% and 26.1% higher than in the same period of 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance.
At the end of 2024, general fund revenues increased by UAH 513.9 billion, or 30.9%, to UAH 2 trillion 177 billion, while general fund expenditures increased by UAH 454.5 billion, or 15%, to UAH 3 trillion 488.8 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
Initially, the 2025 state budget was approved with revenues of UAH 2 trillion 327.1 billion, including general fund revenues of UAH 2 trillion 133.3 billion (excluding grants and international aid), and expenditures of UAH 3 trillion 929.1 billion, of which UAH 3 trillion 591.6 billion was allocated to the general fund.
At the end of July, the Verkhovna Rada, at the government’s suggestion, increased the 2025 state budget expenditures by UAH 400.5 billion and revenues by UAH 147.5 billion. In October, parliament approved an additional increase in expenditures of UAH 324.7 billion for the national security and defense sector, while increasing revenues by UAH 20 billion.
Taking into account the changes made, the revenues of the 2025 state budget (excluding grants) are now planned to amount to UAH 2 trillion 482.6 billion, while expenditures are planned to amount to UAH 4 trillion 337.5 billion. The general fund is expected to have revenues of UAH 2 trillion 278.7 billion and expenditures of UAH 3 trillion 990.1 billion.
Thus, the formally projected deficit of the 2025 state budget, excluding grants and international aid, is about UAH 1.85 trillion, and the deficit of the general fund is about UAH 1.71 trillion, a significant part of which, according to the Ministry of Finance, is directed to financing the security and defense sector.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Getmantsev, has drawn the attention of the Economic Security Bureau (ESB) and the State Tax Service (STS) to the coffee trade sector, which has become one of the most problematic in terms of tax payments, with state losses reaching UAH 1 billion.
“We all love to start our morning with coffee. But what is a habit for us has long been a sector with significant losses for the state. The problems begin at the customs clearance stage: every third ton of coffee is smuggled in annually, disguised as chicory or without any declaration at all. The leaders in customs clearance are the Kyiv and Lviv customs offices,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, the problems do not end at customs: markets and large retail chains, divided into individual entrepreneurs, are also involved in the schemes of selling illegal coffee for cash, with losses amounting to over a billion hryvnia.
The MP reported that in the first nine months of 2025, the industry showed disappointing results, namely: the VAT payment rate increased to 1.45% (+0.28 p.p. compared to 2024), but it is still 0.46 p.p. lower than in 2023, and income tax fell to 0.85% (-0.09 p.p. compared to 2024).
According to Getmantsev, the main risk for the sector is the level of wages, where 89% of taxpayers pay below the market average salary of UAH 12,900, while, according to work.ua, the market average is UAH 22,000. At the same time, more than 18% of enterprises have an average salary below the minimum, which is evidence of the use of tax evasion schemes.
“It is obvious that a significant part of the industry is in the shadows. The question to the tax authorities is: what is the matter with tax control, where are the cash registers/payment terminals?” said the head of the parliamentary committee, calling on the BEB and the DNS to take urgent measures to de-shadow the coffee industry.
