The government has adopted the draft budget act for 2025

At the same time, the government will restore the state budget to its proper constitutional rank. This concerns ensuring transparency in the flow of public funds. This involves including in the budget – unlike in previous years – expenditures that have so far been “pushed” outside the budget.

Main budget assumptions

• State budget revenues are to amount to PLN 632.6 billion.
• Expenditures should amount to PLN 921.6 billion.
• The state budget deficit is expected to amount to PLN 289 billion.

Major Expenses

• In 2025, the government has secured record-high funding for healthcare.

– According to the Act on healthcare services financed from public funds, it will be at least 6.5% of GDP, i.e. at least PLN 221.7 billion.
– This means that in 2025, almost PLN 31 billion, or approximately 16%, more will be spent on healthcare than in 2024.

• Record funds were also secured for national defence, including an increase in the salaries of professional soldiers.
  In 2025 it will be PLN 124.3 billion, compared to PLN 118.1 billion in 2024 (an increase of PLN 6.2 billion).
• Together with the expenditure of the Armed Forces Support Fund, next year's expenditure on national defence will reach PLN 186.6 billion, i.e. PLN 28.6 billion higher than planned for 2024.
  This means that in 2025 spending on the Polish army will amount to 4.7% of GDP (in 2024 it is 4.2% of GDP).
• PLN 24.2 billion is allocated for the indexation of pension benefits from 1 March 2025, including pension benefits for officers and the remuneration of retired judges and prosecutors.
• The “Active Parent” program, which aims to reconcile parenting with professional activation, has been allocated PLN 8.4 billion. (That is PLN 6.9 billion more than in 2024)

• Next year, the base amount for teachers' salaries will increase by 5%.
• Salaries will also increase by 5%, including base amounts for employees of the state budget sector, including officers and soldiers, employees of ministries and central and provincial offices. The remuneration fund for employees of ZUS and KRUS will also be increased.
• The government has planned around PLN 4.2 billion for housing-related purposes. (That is around PLN 1.4 billion, or over 50% more than in 2024)

• PLN 1.6 billion is allocated for the implementation of the so-called entrepreneurs' leave, i.e. exemption from paying contributions in one selected month of the year.
• Funds have been secured for the payment of the so-called widow's pension, i.e. the possibility of receiving a family pension and another retirement and disability benefit, e.g. a pension (PLN 3.2 billion is allocated for this purpose).

• In 2025, the reserve for investments from the National Reconstruction Plan is planned to increase by PLN 1.9 billion (to PLN 4.7 billion).
• At the same time, in the budget for 2025, the government has secured funds for the continuation of socio-economic activities, including in particular the financing of:

1. “Family 800+” programme (PLN 62.8 billion);
2. payments of the 13th and 14th pension (PLN 31.5 billion);
3. road and railway tasks that are implemented under multi-annual programmes (PLN 16.6 billion);
4. a support benefit aimed at helping people with disabilities (with the greatest difficulties in functioning independently) in terms of partial coverage of expenses related to meeting their special life needs (PLN 7.1 billion, i.e. PLN 3.4 billion more than in 2024);
5. social insurance contributions for persons on parental and maternity leave (PLN 4.8 billion);
6. the “Good Start” programme, i.e. PLN 300 of one-off support for students who are starting the school year (PLN 1.4 billion).

The budget for 2025 also includes:

• repayment of PLN 63.2 billion of liabilities under bonds with interest of the Polish Development Fund SA (PLN 34.7 billion) issued in 2020 to finance the government's "Financial Shields" program and by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego for the COVID-19 Counteraction Fund in 2020-2023 (PLN 28.5 billion), without exposing the State Treasury to higher costs of obtaining debt financing than the costs of obtaining capital by the State Treasury.
• the effects of the reform of the revenues of local government units, as a result of which local governments will receive PLN 24.8 billion more revenue from their shares in PIT and CIT taxes (compared to the revenues that would result for local governments under the current regulations).

Macroeconomic data

• Gross Domestic Product – next year will see further economic recovery, with GDP expected to grow by 3.9% (3.1% in 2024). Factors driving economic growth include investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
• Private consumption – in 2025 the growth rate of private consumption will reach 4.3%.
• Investments – in 2025, total investments will increase by 6.4%.
• Unemployment rate – it is expected that in 2025, due to further improvement in the pace of economic growth, the demand for labor will increase. As a result, employment in the national economy will increase by 0.4%, and the unemployment rate at the end of the year will fall to 4.9%.
• Average salary – it is forecasted that in 2025 the average salary in the national economy will increase by 7.1%, i.e. 2.1 percentage points above the forecast inflation.
• Inflation – Inflation is expected to reach 5% in 2025.

Other data

• The government forecasts that in 2025 the general government sector deficit will amount to 5.5% of GDP.
• The projected ratio of general government debt to GDP (according to the EU definition) will be 54.6% at the end of 2024 and 59.8% at the end of 2025, i.e. below the reference value of 60% set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
• The ratio of state public debt to GDP will amount to 43.3% in 2024 and 47.9% in 2025, remaining safely below the prudential threshold of 55% specified in the Public Finance Act.

The draft budget act for 2025 will be submitted to the Social Dialogue Council.

Source: Chancellery of the Prime Minister

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