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What should I do with overpaid benefits if not asked to repay by Inland Revenue?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Muftisays.com
Assalamoalikum Dear Scholars,

Few years ago i use to get benefits from the government (working tax credits and child tax credit).
The tax credits allowance is based on the yearly household income.

For one particular year i informed the Inland Revenue about my yearly income for that year and based on the figure i had provided ,a final decision was made by the Inland Revenue and i received benefits(working and child tax credit).

However i had made an error on the yearly income, ie i had declared a lower yearly income to the Inland Revenue than what it actually was.
Thus, i once again contacted Inland Revenue and informed them of the correct (higher)amount of household income.
(as my household income was higher than what i had declared initially,my benefits would be lower and it would mean that i would have to repay the excess benefits that i had received).

However the Inland Revenue amended the records but never asked me to repay the excess money that i had received as benefits.
If i am not asked by the Inland Revenue to pay back this overpayment what can i do with the overpaid money ?

Can i give it to charity ?
What type of charity can i give it as ?
What intention do i make ?

JAZAKALLAH KHAIR.


Answer

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Al Jawaab Wa Billahit-Tawfeeq

Respected questioner,

Please phone/contact Inland Revenue and explain the situation and ask what should be done.

And Allah knows best

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Please remember me in your dua’s
Maulana Khalil Ibn Ilyas Laher
London, UK

This answer was collected from MuftiSays.com, based in London (UK). It is one of the fruits of Darul Uloom London. Many ‘ulama are involved in answering the Q&A on the site, including: Shaikul Hadeeth Mufti Umar Farooq Sahib, Mufti Saifur Rahman Sahib, Mufti Abdullah Patel Sahib, Maulana Qamruz Zaman Sahib, Mufti Abu Bakr Karolia Sahib.

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