ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – An advisor to the Iraqi prime minister on Saturday revealed that the finance ministry has begun preparing the general budget for 2026, while also outlining the spending mechanisms in case the budget was not passed in time.

Mudher Mohammad Saleh, financial adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ a-Sudani, told state media that in accordance with Iraq’s financial management law, “the Federal Ministry of Finance is proceeding with preparing the draft federal general budget law for the country for the fiscal year 2026.”

The advisor asserted that if the budget was not approved “within the constitutional or legislative timings,” then the Iraqi government “will undertake spending in 2026 on a monthly basis at a rate of 1/12 of the actual current expenditures of 2025.”

Once the budget is approved, “allocations will be released for any activities required by economic growth and sustainable development,” including investment projects and other obligations, Saleh added.

In July, Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami claimed that the delay in the budget submission is due to fluctuating oil prices and “the failure to resolve disputes with the [Kurdistan] Region,” citing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over salary disbursements and the Region’s financial entitlements. 

The finance ministry’s efforts to prepare the 2026 budget come at a time when the ministry has not yet completed the 2025 budget tables.

After months of political wrangling, the Iraqi parliament passed a three-year budget for 2023, 2024, and 2025, in June 2023. The budget had an annual value of approximately $153 billion, the largest in the country’s history.