Vehicle charges exceed road spending by 83 billion kronur

Direct state revenues from vehicles, fuel and driving exceeded total spending on road transport by 83 billion kronur between 2019 and 2025, according to an analysis by the Federation of Icelandic Industries reported by mbl.is.

The state collected 338 billion kronur from those sources over the seven-year period, while total spending on road transport was 255 billion kronur. Of that spending, 180.7 billion kronur went to road maintenance and new construction. For every 100 kronur collected in direct charges, about 53 kronur was spent on those two areas.

The gap has widened in recent years. In 2025, direct revenues were 64.9 billion kronur, compared with total road transport spending of 43.9 billion kronur, a difference of about 21 billion kronur.

The analysis projects a gap of 23.1 billion kronur in 2026. For 2027, it forecasts direct revenues of 83.9 billion kronur and total road transport spending of 50 billion kronur, leaving a difference of nearly 34 billion kronur.

The federation said the figures show that higher charges do not automatically lead to greater spending on road transport. Its projections indicate that the gap between revenue and spending will widen further in 2026 and 2027.