September budget deficit surges to 532 billion lira, marking year's peak; secret spending doubles previous monthly record in single month

According to data released by the Treasury and Finance Ministry, budget revenues in September totaled 1.2 trillion lira, while budget expenditures reached 1 trillion 785 billion lira — the highest level of the year. According to Sözcü's reporting, the budget deficit reached 532.2 billion lira, setting a new monthly record for 2025.

Interest expenses were the primary driver of the deficit: in September alone, 263 billion lira in interest payments were made. Over the January-September period, the interest burden rose 35.4 percent to 2 trillion 252 billion lira. Over the same nine-month period, the budget deficit grew 51.2 percent, reaching 1 trillion 840 billion lira.

The secret spending item, whose disbursement authority rests directly with the Presidency, presented a separate striking picture. Secret spending expenditures, which totaled 14 billion lira for the entirety of last year, exceeded 19 billion lira in just the first nine months of this year. The portion attributable to September was 6 billion 638 million lira — double the previous monthly record.

For comparison: in all of 2024, the amount spent from secret reserves was 14 billion lira; as of end-September 2025, this figure has been exceeded by 36 percent. When compared against the annual budget target, the nine-month deficit demonstrates how far actual spending has outpaced the estimates presented to the public.