Budget of Germany

The public sector budget of Germany is divided among the administrative divisions of the country.

The Federal Statistical Office of Germany breaks down the 2023 general government budget into the following categories:

The International Monetary Fund reports Germany's government revenue and expenditure amounted to 47.0% and 49.5% of GDP in 2022.

In terms of accounting period, the national government's fiscal year aligns with the calendar year (1 January to 31 December).

Since 2009, Germany has a balanced budget amendment in its Constitution, the so-called "debt brake" (Schuldenbremse in German), which restricts annual structural deficits to 0.35% of GDP. If a natural disaster or extraordinary emergency exists, the debt brake may be temporarily suspended for a budget year by a majority vote in Parliament, as was done in 2020-2023. Controversially, the numerous and financially significant special funds established by the Federal government (29 funds with a collective financial volume of 869 billion EUR as of 2023) do not currently fall within the scope of the debt brake. On a sub-national level, the debt brake bans Germany's 16 states from running structural deficits, a restriction which came into effect in 2020. In 2025, the outgoing German Parliament amended the debt brake through an agreement among the CDU/CSU, SPD, and Green political parties. The package contains four main provisions:

• Defense spending above 1% of GDP is exempt from the debt brake
• The permitted structural deficit is doubled to 0.70% of GDP by allowing Germany's 16 states to run a 0.35% deficit
• A 12-year, 500 billion EUR special fund for infrastructure is established
• A reference to achieving climate neutrality / net zero emissions by 2045 is added into the German constitution