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LINCOLN — Nebraska ended fiscal year 2024-25 about $86 million below its expected tax revenues, further cementing the budget challenges state lawmakers will face next session.
On Tuesday, Nebraska’s Department of Revenue released the state’s June tax receipts, revealing net receipts for the month were down about 0.5% from what the state’s forecasting board predicted in April. That drop equates to about $4 million in less revenue headed into Nebraska’s general fund.
June was the last month of the fiscal year, which spanned from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Overall, Nebraska’s net receipts for the year were 1.4% down from the forecast, equating to a $86 million drop in expected revenues.
Legislative Fiscal Analyst Keisha Patent said the receipts mean Nebraska is effectively back in a budget deficit, though the exact number has yet to be determined.
Lawmakers grappled all session with a projected deficit that fluctuated, growing as high as $432 million. Senators, until the latest update, landed with a budget plan that would have ended the current biennium with a $4 million surplus.
Senators drafted the budget based on projections from the forecasting board’s latest meeting in late April. Following that meeting, Nebraska’s May tax receipts came in more than 14% below their projections, equating to $82 million in less revenue going to the state.
That, combined with the June receipts, led to the $86 million drop.
While these receipts put Nebraska’s budget balance back in the red, Patent said it isn’t so simple as subtracting $86 million from the $4 million surplus.
