The ONS said National Insurance contributions increased by £2.9bn in January, which also helping bump government income.
It added that another factor for the January uptick was more money made from income tax, which came in at £3.6bn more than last January.
The Treasury’s freeze on income tax thresholds is dragging people in to paying higher tax rates as their incomes rise which aided the increase in income tax receipts, according to Paul Dales, chief economist at Capital Economics.
Borrowing in the 10 months to January was £112.1bn – 11.5% lower than the same 10 month period a year ago – although the ONS noted that it was the fifth-highest borrowing for the period on record.
HM Treasury said borrowing for 2026 is forecast to be “the lowest since before the pandemic.”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray said: “We know there is more to do to stop one in every £10 the government spends going on debt interest, and we will more than halve borrowing by 2030-31 so that money can be spent on policing, schools and the NHS.”
Separately, retail sales grew more than expected in January, according to official data.
The amount of goods bought rose by 1.8% in January, up from 0.4% in December, the ONS reported.
City economists had expected a rise of 0.2%.
The performance was boosted by strong demand for sports supplements and jewellery. Sales of artwork and antiques also did well.