Christopher R Brown Ltd

Christopher R Brown Ltd Christopher R Brown Ltd is a leading independent firm of chartered Accountants in Clevedon. We offer a wide range of accountancy and tax advice.

If you engage contractors through their own limited companies, it's worth a periodic IR35 refresher - rules and working ...
07/09/2026

If you engage contractors through their own limited companies, it's worth a periodic IR35 refresher - rules and working practices both drift over time.

Key questions to ask yourself:
- Have you issued (and kept updated) a Status Determination Statement for each engagement?
- Does the actual working relationship still match what's on paper?
- Have any contracts been renewed without re-checking status?

Getting IR35 wrong can mean the fee-payer becomes liable for tax and National Insurance that should have been deducted - a costly mistake to discover at inspection.

We help SMEs review contractor arrangements before they become a problem. Want a second opinion on yours?

Back to school for the kids often means back to business for SME owners - September has a natural 'reset' energy to it.A...
03/09/2026

Back to school for the kids often means back to business for SME owners - September has a natural 'reset' energy to it.

A few things worth revisiting now:
- Is your bookkeeping up to date, or has summer left a backlog?
- Are your systems (invoicing, expenses, payroll) still fit for purpose?
- Is there a process you've been meaning to fix all year?

September gives you a full quarter to bed in changes before the year-end rush hits. Small tweaks now save a lot of stress later.

Thinking about tidying up your finance processes this autumn? Let's talk.

Reminder: new HMRC advisory fuel rates take effect from tomorrow, 1 September.If you reimburse employees for business mi...
31/08/2026

Reminder: new HMRC advisory fuel rates take effect from tomorrow, 1 September.

If you reimburse employees for business mileage in company cars, or recover the cost of private fuel, make sure your payroll and expenses systems are updated to the new rates from day one - not partway through the month.

Using outdated rates can mean you're either underpaying staff or inadvertently creating a taxable benefit.

Check HMRC's published rates for your vehicle's engine size and fuel type, and update your expense claim templates accordingly.

Need a hand getting your systems updated? We're happy to help.

Still claiming - or not claiming - Employment Allowance? It's worth checking your eligibility hasn't changed partway thr...
27/08/2026

Still claiming - or not claiming - Employment Allowance? It's worth checking your eligibility hasn't changed partway through the year.

A quick recap:
- It reduces your employer Class 1 National Insurance bill
- Available to most employers, but single-director companies with no other employees are excluded
- If your circumstances changed since April (new hires, restructuring), it's worth re-checking eligibility now rather than at year end

We see this allowance both missed by businesses who qualify, and wrongly claimed by those who don't - both cause problems later.

Want us to check your position? Send us a message.

Became self-employed, started a side hustle, or set up as a landlord this tax year? 5 October is the deadline to registe...
24/08/2026

Became self-employed, started a side hustle, or set up as a landlord this tax year? 5 October is the deadline to register for Self Assessment.

Miss it and you could face a penalty - even if you'd have owed no tax at all.

Who needs to register:
- Anyone newly self-employed since 6 April 2025
- New company directors not already in Self Assessment
- Anyone with new rental or other untaxed income over the reporting threshold

Registering doesn't mean paying tax straight away - it just gets you into the system so your first return isn't a scramble in January.

Not sure if you need to register? Ask us - it takes two minutes to check.

With Q3 trading nearly done, now's the time to build your Q4 cash flow forecast - not the week before you need it.A good...
20/08/2026

With Q3 trading nearly done, now's the time to build your Q4 cash flow forecast - not the week before you need it.

A good forecast should cover:
- Seasonal dips or spikes specific to your business
- Tax payments falling due (Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE)
- Supplier payment terms and any planned capital spend
- A buffer for the unexpected

Businesses that forecast quarterly catch cash gaps months before they become a crisis - and it puts you in a much stronger position if you ever need to talk to a lender.

We help clients build forecasts they'll actually use, not just a spreadsheet that gets filed away. Get in touch to talk it through.

August is a good time for a mid-year check on company cars and fuel benefits, well before P11D season lands in the sprin...
17/08/2026

August is a good time for a mid-year check on company cars and fuel benefits, well before P11D season lands in the spring.

Worth reviewing now:
- Any vehicles added, changed, or removed since April
- Private fuel provided - and whether the fuel benefit charge is actually worth it for higher earners
- Electric vehicle benefit rates, which remain far lower than petrol or diesel

Sorting this in August means no scramble in April, and no surprises for your directors when the P11D lands.

Want us to run the numbers on whether private fuel is still cost-effective for your team? Ask us.

Borrowed money from your own company? It goes on the books as a director's loan - and HMRC has firm rules about what hap...
13/08/2026

Borrowed money from your own company? It goes on the books as a director's loan - and HMRC has firm rules about what happens next.

Key things to know:
- Loans over £10,000 usually count as a benefit in kind
- If it's not repaid within 9 months of the company year end, the company pays a 33.75% tax charge (section 455)
- That charge is repayable once the loan is cleared, but it can tie up cash for a long time

Directors' loan accounts are one of the areas HMRC scrutinises most closely at inspection. If you're not sure where yours stands, it's worth checking before your year end - not after.

Taking on extra hands over summer? Seasonal and temporary staff still need to go through PAYE correctly - there's no sho...
10/08/2026

Taking on extra hands over summer? Seasonal and temporary staff still need to go through PAYE correctly - there's no shortcut just because the role is short-term.

Things to get right from day one:
- Starter checklist instead of a P45 if they don't have one
- Correct tax code so they're not over or undertaxed
- Student loan deductions if applicable
- Holiday pay accrual, even for casual hours

Getting this wrong is one of the most common payroll errors we see corrected months later - by which point it's cost time and, sometimes, penalties.

Need help setting up seasonal staff properly? We can take payroll off your hands.

Heads up if you run company cars: HMRC updates its advisory fuel rates on 1 September.These rates set what you can reimb...
06/08/2026

Heads up if you run company cars: HMRC updates its advisory fuel rates on 1 September.

These rates set what you can reimburse employees tax-free for business mileage in company cars (or what you should charge them for private fuel) - and they change every quarter based on fuel prices.

If your payroll or expenses system is still using the old rates after 1 September, you risk either underpaying staff or creating an unexpected tax charge.

We'll share the new rates the moment they're published. In the meantime, flag it in your diary now so it doesn't slip through.

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Tickton Lodge, Clevedon
Bristol
BS217NR

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