More than €6.7 billion in tax revenue was collected by the Department of Finance in the first two months of the year - €345m (5.4%) ahead of Budget forecasts.
The figure represents a €925m (15.9%) increase on the same period of 2014, with the tax take higher in all major categories.
This has put the Exchequer deficit at €205m by the end of February - compared to an almost €1.68 billion deficit at the same time last year.
In the first two months of the year the Exchequer took in almost €2.9 billion in income tax – up €183m (6.8%) on last year.
In the month of February alone the figure was ahead of profile by €91m (7.1%).
VAT receipts stood at €2.37 billion by the end of last month – up €330m (16.2%) year-on-year. On a monthly basis, tax take from VAT was €40m (11.3%) higher than had been expected in Budget 2015.
Corporation tax take, meanwhile, has seen a significant improvement on an annual basis, rising by €174m to €265m.
This is also significantly higher than had been forecast – though the Department notes that around €50m of this relates to one-off, non-recurring payments.
Excise duties were up €130m (20%) year-on-year at €778m, with the February figure alone coming in €52m (15.3%) ahead of target.
Meanwhile stamp duty receipts were up €45m (42%) year-on-year at €152m.
The Department of Finance said it had received €115m in Local Property Tax by the end of February – which was up €58m on the same period of last year – though it attributed this to a change in payment deadlines.
By the end of February, overall net voted expenditure was €172m (2.4%) lower year-on-year at almost €6.9 billion.
This was largely due to a €238m reduction in spending at the Department of Social Protection, though it was offset slightly by a rise in capital expenditure at the Departments of Defence, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Education and Skills.
Non-voted capital expenditure was €190m lower year-on-year at €611m, due to a reduction in temporary loans to the Social Insurance Fund.
Non-voted current expenditure was almost €100m higher, however, at €675m due to Local Property Tax receipts being transferred from the Exchequer to the Local Government Fund.
Meanwhile the country’s debt servicing costs stood at €591m by the end of last month – representing a €128m (17.8%) decrease year-on-year.
