Resources | The 2026 IMF Annual Report
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FY 2026 Budget and Spending
- The Executive Board approved the FY 2026 net administrative budget of $1,552 million in FY 2026 dollars, with indicative budgets for FY 2027 and FY 2028. The FY 2026 gross administrative budget envelope was $1,991 million, including $296 million in external reimbursements for capacity development activities.
- The gross budget incorporated $73 million in IMF-financed carryforward of unused resources from prior years and $8 million in externally financed carryforward.
- A capital budget of $133 million was approved for use over three years to support facilities-related and IT-intensive capital projects, including cloud-based licensing costs.
- Actual administrative expenditures in FY 2026 totaled $1,505 million, equivalent to 97 percent of the approved net budget and 97.5 percent for the general budget, excluding the Office of the Executive Directors and the Independent Evaluation Office.
- Capital spending in FY 2026 increased by 2.4 percent to $130 million, comprising $56 million in facilities-related direct capital spending and $74 million for IT-intensive spending.
- The budget was guided by principles of agility and discipline, supported by reprioritization, efficiency gains, and a management-led streamlining review with implications for FY 2026 and expected medium-term allocations.
- In April 2026, the Executive Board authorized a net administrative budget for FY 2027 of $1,601 million ($1,559 million in FY 26 dollars).
Spending by Output Areas (FY 2026)
- Direct country work accounts for about half of total IMF spending through bilateral surveillance, financial support, and direct capacity development delivery.
- Multilateral surveillance, policy and analytics, and IMF governance and finances account for an additional one-third of IMF spending; remaining spending covers corporate services and oversight offices.
- Spending shares (Percent of total spending):
- IMF Governance & Finances: 10.5%
- Multilateral Surveillance, Global Cooperation and Standard Setting: 10%
- Policy & Analytics: 11.1%
- Direct Country Operations: 46.9%
- Other Corporate Functions: 2.2%
- Corporate Services and Facilities: 8%
- Human Resources: 3.5%
- Information Technology: 7.9%
- Direct Country Operations breakdown (Percent of Direct Country Operations spending):
- Bilateral Surveillance: 39.4%
- Lending: 22.8%
- Capacity Development (CD) (Delivery only): 37.8%
Income Model and FY 2026 Net Income
- The IMF generates income primarily through lending and investing activities. Lending income is derived from fees and charges on use of General Resources Account (GRA) credit, including service charges, commitment fees, surcharges, and special charges. Investment income is generated from assets in the Fixed-Income and Endowment Subaccounts of the IMF’s Investment Account.
- The Executive Board approved an initial payout of $200 million from the Investment Account to be transferred to the GRA to meet administrative expenses; future payouts will rise based on the US consumer price index each year under the constant real payout rule.
- As of April 30, 2026, the membership had not adopted the dividend policy. In October 2024, the Executive Board agreed on a distribution framework for GRA resources to facilitate additional PRGT subsidy resources and to support a self-sustaining PRGT annual lending capacity of SDR 2.7 billion. The distribution framework consists of:
- (1) a multiyear distribution plan for a maximum cumulative amount of SDR 6.9 billion from GRA resources, realized through annual distribution decisions; and
- (2) the establishment of the Interim Placement Administered Account to hold such placements.
- Including net investment income of SDR 984 million (US$1.3 billion) transferred from the Investment Account, GRA net income for FY2026 amounted to SDR 1.9 billion (US$2.6 billion) before the net income distribution decision and the related transfer of SDR 1.38 billion (US$1.9 billion) from GRA resources to the Interim Placement Administered Account.
- Net income components included income from strong lending activity and investment income: Fixed-Income Subaccount SDR 833 million (US$1.1 billion) and Endowment Subaccount payout SDR 151 million (US$208 million) transferred to the GRA.
- The IMF’s total comprehensive income for FY 2026 was SDR 4.8 billion (US$6.5 billion), which included retained income in the Investment Account of SDR 1 billion (US$1.3 billion) and a pension-related remeasurement gain of SDR 1.9 billion (US$2.6 billion).
Rates of Charge, Surcharges, and Fees
- The basic rate of charge on IMF financing comprises the SDR interest rate plus a fixed margin expressed in basis points.
- In October 2024, the Executive Board reduced the margin for the rate of charge from 100 basis points to 60 basis points above the SDR interest rate for the remainder of FY 2025—beginning November 1, 2024—and for FY 2026.
- In April 2026, the Executive Board agreed to maintain the margin at 60 basis points for FY 2027 to FY 2028.
- Service charge: 0.5 percent is levied on each drawing from the GRA.
- Commitment fee: charged at the beginning of each 12-month period on amounts available for purchase under GRA arrangements; refundable except for arrangements under the Short-Term Liquidity Line (fee nonrefundable).
- Special charges are levied on overdue charges, but only for the first six months a member is in arrears.
Lending Capacity, Quotas, and Borrowing Arrangements
- The IMF’s members make initial investments called “quotas”; IMF quotas total SDR 476 billion (about $653 billion). Quotas determine resource contributions, voting power, access to financing, and share in SDR allocations.
- On November 7, 2023, the Executive Board proposed a 50 percent equiproportional quota increase (SDR 238.6 billion, or $327.4 billion). On December 15, 2023, the Board of Governors concluded the Sixteenth General Review of Quotas (16th GRQ) and approved the proposed 50 percent increase, which will bring total quotas to SDR 715.7 billion ($982 billion) when effective.
- Two general effectiveness conditions for the 16th GRQ:
- Condition 1: No quota increase can take effect unless members with at least 85 percent of total quotas on November 7, 2023, consent in writing to their quota increases (deadline originally November 15, 2024, extensible by the Executive Board).
- Condition 2: No quota increase can take effect unless participants in the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) provide consents necessary for NAB rollback to take effect.
- Timeline extensions:
- On November 7, 2025, the Executive Board extended the deadline for member consent to May 15, 2026.
- On May 8, 2026, the Executive Board approved another six-month extension through November 15, 2026.
- The IMF’s nonconcessional lending firepower is about $1 trillion.
- Quotas, borrowing, and trust funds:
- Quota resources supplemented by the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and bilateral borrowing agreements (BBAs) serve as second and third lines of defense.
- The NAB has 40 participants contributing an aggregate amount of SDR 364 billion; once the 16th GRQ takes effect, the NAB aggregate size will be reduced to about SDR 303 billion. The current five-year NAB period started on January 1, 2026, and is set through the end of 2030.
- BBAs as of April 30, 2026: 39 BBAs had been extended beyond the end of 2024, providing a total credit amount equivalent to about SDR 136.6 billion.
- BBA activation conditions: IMF resources available for financing below SDR 100 billion and either NAB activated or no available uncommitted NAB resources; activation requires approval by bilateral creditors representing 85 percent of total credit amount committed.
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and Allocations
- The SDR is an international reserve asset created in 1969; it is the IMF’s unit of account and a potential claim on freely usable currencies of IMF members.
- SDR valuation: Basket of five currencies—US dollar, euro, Chinese renminbi, Japanese yen, British pound. Most recent review concluded May 2022; updated basket effective August 1, 2022.
- As of April 30, 2026, total SDR allocations amounted to SDR 660.8 billion (equivalent to about $906.6 billion), including the August 2021 allocation of SDR 456.5 billion (equivalent to about $650 billion).
- Since the 2021 allocation, the IMF has encouraged voluntary channeling of SDRs to support the PRGT and the RST. On May 10, 2024, the Executive Board approved the use of SDRs for acquisition of hybrid capital instruments issued by prescribed holders, adding to seven previously authorized operations: settlement of financial obligations, loans, pledges, transfers as security for performance, swaps, forward operations, and donations.
Arrears and Cooperative Strategy on Arrears
- Since June 2021, when Sudan cleared its arrears, the IMF has had no cases of protracted arrears.
- The IMF’s strengthened cooperative strategy on arrears comprises three elements: prevention, intensified collaboration, and remedial measures.
- Prevention includes surveillance of members’ economic policies, policy conditionality, assessment of capacity to repay, safeguards assessments of central banks, and technical assistance.
- Intensified collaboration includes staff-monitored programs to help members in arrears establish a track record on policies and payments.
- Remedial measures are applied with an escalating timetable to members with overdue financial obligations that do not actively cooperate with the IMF.
Selected Budget and Memorandum Figures (from Table 3.1 and memoranda)
- FY 2026 figures (as presented):
- Gross Fund Financed Total Budget: 1,694 (millions of US dollars)
- Gross Fund Financed Outturn: 1,548
- Gross Fund Financed Structural: 1,651
- Net administrative budget Total Budget: 1,552
- Net administrative budget Outturn: 1,505
- Net administrative budget Structural: 1,601
- General Receipts Total Budget: 49; Outturn: 43
- Gross Externally Financed Receipts (largely CD-related) Total Budget: 288; Outturn: 240
- Gross administrative envelope Total Budget: 1,991; Outturn: 1,790
- Capital Total Budget: 133; Outturn: 130
- Facilities Capital: 61 Total Budget; Outturn: 55
- HQ2 refresh Capital Total Budget: 0; Outturn: 1
- IT intensive Capital Total Budget: 71; Outturn: 74
- Carryforward (actual): 73
- FY 2027 figures (as presented):
- Gross Fund Financed Total Budget: 1,729
- Net administrative budget Total Budget: 1,601
- General Receipts Total Budget: 50
- Gross Externally Financed Receipts Total Budget: 296
- Gross administrative envelope Total Budget: 1,947
- Capital Total Budget: 129
- Facilities Capital: 45
- HQ2 refresh Capital: 12
- IT intensive Capital: 73
- Carryforward (actual): 60
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