UK posts surprise budget surplus for January after bumper income tax haul

News could leave Jeremy Hunt with wriggle room for giveaways in budget next month, say analysts

The UK government ran a surprise £5.4bn surplus in January, after bumper self-assessment income tax receipts, leaving some rooms for giveaways in the chancellor’s budget next month according to some economists.

The surplus was £5bn higher than the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, had expected, although it was £7.1bn smaller than in January 2022, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Analysts polled by Reuters were taken by surprise, having instead predicted that the government would have to borrow £7.8bn in January.