UK government borrowing rises in July
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 21 Aug 2026
(Sharecast News) - UK government borrowing rose in July as spending growth outpaced receipts despite strong self-assessed income tax revenue, according to figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics.
Government borrowing was £1.8bn in July, up £0.7bn on the same month a year earlier and £2.3bn above the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast.
The ONS said "spending growth outpaced receipts despite strong self-assessed (SA) income tax revenue payments, typically received each July and January".
Borrowing for the financial year to July was £56.7bn, down £6bn on the same period a year earlier but £2.3bn above the OBR forecast.
ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said: "Public sector borrowing was lower in the financial year to date than in the same period last year, both in total and as a share of the economy. However, it is above the OBR spring forecast.
"Conversely, borrowing was slightly higher this month than in July last year, with spending growth outpacing higher receipts, including from self-assessed taxes which often feed in more strongly in July."
Jake Finney, senior economist at PwC UK, said: "Attention will soon turn to the Autumn Budget, when we will get more clarity on the government's fiscal plans. The Prime Minister may have changed, but the fiscal arithmetic has not. The same difficult trade-offs remain, including the unresolved question of how to pay for higher defence spending.
"Financial markets have so far been relatively calm about the change in leadership. While there have been some additional spending commitments in recent weeks, these have been small compared with the wider fiscal challenges. However, as we have seen in recent years, markets can become jittery when uncertainty over the public finances rises in the run-up to a Budget."
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