Provisional estimates indicate a government surplus (net lending, B.9) of almost €3bn in the second quarter of 2026. There has been a surplus in 15 of the last 19 quarters going back to Q4 2021. These government figures are provisional and are subject to change when the Q2 2026 Government Finance Statistics are published. Income and wealth taxes plus social contributions (D.5 and D.61, which include PAYE and other tax on individual earnings, and corporation tax) were up €1.8bn on the same quarter of 2025. Taxes on products and production (D.2, which include VAT and local authority Rates) were up €0.2bn on the same quarter of 2025.
On the expenditure side, social benefits (D.62) were up €0.6bn (7%) while final consumption expenditure (P.3) rose by €0.4bn (3%) to €18.3bn. Further details of the estimates before price or seasonal adjustment are shown in Table 2.1 below.
The gross value added (GVA) of Non-Financial Corporations was €113.7bn in Q2 2026, which was €5.2bn (5%) higher than in Q2 2025. The increase in the GVA of non-financial corporations was in large part due to higher value added in Industry and ICT (Information & Communications Technology).
The sequence of accounts after GVA, before price or seasonal adjustment, is summarised in Table 2.2. The €113.7bn in GVA was split into €29.2bn Compensation of Employees (COE, D.1 up 7% on Q2 2025) and €83.7bn Gross Operating Surplus (GOS, B2A3G up 4%).
The GOS (profit) was then largely distributed as dividends and reinvested earnings paid out (€64.4bn in the quarter, unchanged on the second quarter of 2025).
Non-Financial corporations invested almost €18.7bn in capital assets (P5) in the quarter, which is €6.7bn less than in the same quarter last year. This left their net lending (B.9) at €3.6bn, a €12.7bn increase from a net borrowing position of €9.1bn in Q2 2025.
Investment income (D.4) inflows and outflows of financial corporations were €64.9bn and €57.4bn respectively in Q2 2026. The value added of the sector was comparatively small: €5.8bn, similar to the €5.3bn in Q2 2025. The sector paid €3.1bn in compensation of employees in Q2 and made €2.6bn in gross operating surplus.
Much of the investment income flows relate to assets held overseas. As we can see from the International Accounts Table 1.5, a substantial part of the investment income (primary income) is paid and received by Other Financial Intermediaries, such as non-pension investment funds. Thus, while the value of transactions are very high in the sub-sector, they have limited impact on the domestic economy.
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