Budget 2026 rolls out $1.558 Trillion “Putting People First” plan with no new taxes

With a focus on building a modern and prosperous Guyana in which opportunities are provided for every single Guyanese, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has presented the whopping $1.558 trillion Budget 2026 with a series of measures ranging from tax incentives across various sectors, increase in threshold, housing subsidies, and support to combat the high cost of living.
As the first National Budget presented since the Dr Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Administration was re-elected to office after the September 2025 General and Regional Elections, Budget 2026 is themed: ‘Putting People First’.
According to Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh, this budget builds on the last five years of steady progress and ushers in a new phase of inclusive, diversified growth through creating more opportunities for accelerated job creation, income generation, and human capital development.
This, he said, is reflective of the government’s policy agenda and 2025 manifesto promises that focus on improving the lives of and creating opportunities for the Guyanese people. To this end, the finance minister announced a series of measures geared towards increasing the disposable income for citizens. These include the setting aside of some $9 billion to further ease cost-of-living pressures throughout this year.
Further, the distribution of the highly anticipated $100,000 cash grant for every adult Guyanese will also commence this year, and will see a transfer of over $60 billion into the pockets of more than 600,000 citizens.

Support for children
Additionally, the Because We Care Cash Grant to school children has been increased from $50,000 to now $60,000 per child, placing an additional $2 billion into households with some 206,000 children in both public and private schools. This will result in an estimated $12.4 billion being transferred to parents under the BWC programme.

This sum will be further bolstered by the introduction of the promised annual Transportation Grant of $20,000 per child – a total of $4.1 billion of additional disposable income to parents. Together, these two measures, along with the $5,000 uniform voucher allowance, will see every school child benefitting from a total transfer of $85,000 each, amounting to $17.5 billion for the year.
Moreover, Government will continue to subsidise the cost of up to eight subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) levels for some 14,000 public and private students, adding another $850 million in support for families.

Support for elderly, vulnerable
On the other hand, approximately 95,000 pensioners will benefit from an increase in the Old Age Pension, which moved from 41,000 to $46,000 per month – an additional $5.7 billion of disposable income. To further support the mobility of the elderly population, Government also introduced a $20,000 transportation grant – another manifesto promise, fulfilled.
With both the OAP and this grant, Minister Singh indicated that senior citizens will get an annual transfer of over $54 billion.
Similarly, Public Assistance has been hiked up from $22,000 to now $25,000 per month, benefitting over 46,000 vulnerable persons with an additional $1.7 billion – almost $14 billion payout for 2026.
Further, the Government has implemented a suite of measures to improve the quality of life of senior citizens along with children by supporting the establishment of care facilities. This will see the removal of corporate taxes on companies that provide child care and elderly care services, with the provision of $1.5 billion in financial support to co-invest in these facilities once the benefitting companies agree on a capped service rate.

Additionally, the finance minister announced an increase in stipend from $40,000 to $50,000 per month, effective January 1, 2026, for Pathway workers (10-day workers), Community Enhancement workers, Community Service Officers, and Community Policing Groups. This will see a total of $2.8 billion in additional income – an annual injection of $14 billion.

Threshold increase
Moreover, he announced the adjustment of the income tax threshold from $130,000 in 2025 to now $140,000 monthly. This will result in the removal of 5,000 persons, coupled with 60,000 last year, from the tax net whilst adding over $2 billion in disposable income to workers.
In addition, the government has removed the net property tax on individuals, which will increase the disposable income of these persons by over $1.4 billion – effective for the 2026 year of assessment.

According to Dr Singh, “These measures will provide over $100 billion to our citizens, not including the impact of the removal of the excise tax on fuel, to promote economic activity, job creation, and increase disposable income to the Guyanese people.”

Employment opportunities
Meanwhile, to further create employment opportunities and support community-based economic development, Budget 2026 allocates US$100 million towards the Guyana Development Bank. This institution will provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), young entrepreneurs, women, and persons living with disabilities, with access to up to $3 million in micro-credit loans at zero interest, with zero collateral requirement for targeted investments in specified sectors.
This intervention will also see government co-investing to share the financial risks thus providing critical support to ensure SMEs access up to an additional $7 million at preferential interest rates from participating commercial banks. Government will also extend to the commercial banks, similar fiscal concessions as are granted for low-income housing.

To further accelerate economic diversification, Government will designate a number of areas as Special Development Zones that will benefit from fiscal incentives to enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector, including the impending reduction in the cost of electricity, which will significantly lower production costs and improve the viability of large-scale and export-oriented manufacturing operations.

Agriculture and agro-processing
In the agriculture sector, Government will remove the corporate taxes on agriculture and agro-processing businesses aimed at increasing diversification and ramping up production scale.
To support the forestry value-added subsector, Minister Singh revealed plans to expand the list of products eligible for export allowance to now include timber value-added products – a move that will enhance the competitiveness of qualifying exporters and lower costs by reducing their tax payable, thereby allowing them to price their goods more competitively in international markets.
Similarly, to further increase the competitiveness of the forestry sector, lower cost of construction, and support local manufacturers, Government will remove VAT on locally made furniture, including doors, moulding, and beds. This, the minister said, will boost local industries on their path to sustainability and competing regionally.
He went on to detail plans to further encourage local value-added and strengthen opportunities for SMEs in the jewellery-making sub-sector, through the removal of VAT levied on locally manufactured jewellery.
Also benefiting from tax incentives is the hospitality sector, with the removal of the 14-day residency requirements for destination weddings in Guyana, recognising the country as a niche tourism market for such events.
In addition, the government has proposed the removal of duty and VAT on security equipment, including security cameras and alarm systems, as part of efforts to build safer communities and to augment national efforts to combat crime.

Removal of VAT on vehicles
Tax incentives were also extended to further encourage the ownership of motor vehicles by in the country, by “making vehicles more affordable for ordinary Guyanese.”
To this end, the Finance Minister announced the removal of VAT on new vehicles below 1500 cc (vehicles less than four years old), to reduce the cost of importation. Additionally, VAT will also be removed on hybrid motor vehicles below 2000 cc – reflecting Government’s commitment towards low-carbon development and supporting the gradual shift towards more environmentally-friendly transportation alternatives.
Further in keeping with the 2025 Manifesto promises, the Government will remove all import duties and taxes on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for all categories. Similarly, all taxes and duties for outboard engines up to 150 horsepower will be eliminated to further reduce the cost of transportation within hinterland and riverain communities.
Moreover, recognising that double-cab pick-ups play an integral role at both the business and the household level, the Government will introduce a flat tax of $2 million on double-cab pick-ups less than 2,000 cc, irrespective of age; and $3 million on double-cab pick-ups between 2,000 cc and 2,500 cc, irrespective of age.

Support for home ownership
On the other hand, Dr Singh also unveiled a series of measures aimed at reducing the cost of home ownership. Among these interventions is the further lowering of the low-income mortgage ceiling from $20 million to now $30 million, which will make housing loans at commercial banks more affordable to borrowers.
Additionally, he revealed that a low-income mortgage ceiling window of $30 million will also be extended to approved insurance companies that offer housing loans under similar arrangements that apply to commercial banks.
This year, Government will continue direct assistance to homeowners with $7.5 billion allocated to support upgrades to homes.
Meanwhile, since March 2022, government has maintained a zero per cent excise tax on petroleum products, foregoing an estimated $100 billion in revenue annually and ensuring approximately $500 of savings to citizens for every gallon of diesel or gasoline purchased.
The Finance Minister announced that Government will continue to uphold this measure as a safeguard against the volatility of global energy markets and as a means to mitigate the transmission of high fuel prices to citizens. Similarly, Government will continue to cushion the impact of rising international shipping costs, as has been done since 2021, by reverting freight charges to pre-pandemic levels for the calculation of import taxes. The extension of this measure for another 12-month period this year would rack up to an estimated annual cost of $6 billion.

Not just expenditures of convenience
Following his near seven-hour long presentation, Minister Singh posited that Budget 2026 is firmly grounded in the 2025 Manifesto, on which basis the PPP/C scored the landslide electoral victory last year and a historic Parliamentary majority with 36 seats in the National Assembly.
According to the finance minister, this serves as a resounding endorsement of the policy agenda that the Ali-led Administration has outlined for the next five years. He added that it also inspires the PPP/C to ensure that not only the transformation of Guyana advances, but that it results in the creation of opportunities and the generation of prosperity for the Guyanese People.
“With this in mind, Budget 2026 is entirely and fundamentally about the Guyanese People. At its core – throughout all of its policies, programmes, projects, and initiatives – are choices aimed at ensuring that the interests of all of the Guyanese People are protected and served. In particular, its aim is to ensure that everything that we do as a government results in an identifiable improvement in Guyanese lives or in an identifiable creation of opportunity for Guyanese nationals. This is the litmus test of all we do as a government,” he posited.
Dr Singh went on to say that Budget 2026 prioritises investments that directly promote economic growth, accelerate the transformation of the country, enhance human capital, and improve social wellbeing.
“It supports an education and training system that equips our children and young people with relevant skills for a modern, diversified economy; a health system that is more accessible, resilient, and responsive; and social protection mechanisms that provide dignity, security, and support for the most vulnerable amongst us. These are not expenditures of convenience; they are investments in productivity, resilience, and a better Guyana, a Guyana where all can prosper, and a Guyana where ability and effort are rewarded… This is the Guyana we in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government are building with the Guyanese people,” the finance minister stressed.