Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
Josh Anish is director of marketing at AppZen.
Joel Olbricht, CPA, CGMA, is the managing member of OSGroup LLC, a firm of 13 professionals in New Hampshire that works closely with families on business, estate and income tax planning. He is a member of the Governing Council of the AICPA and chair of its PCPS Executive Committee, as well as past president of the New Hampshire Society of CPAs.
Paula O’Reilly is a managing director at Accenture responsible for leading strategic and transformational initiatives for global financial services clients. Throughout her 25-plus-year career, she has helped banks and wealth and asset management firms on strategy development, innovation at scale, finance and risk management, and back-office operation efficiency.
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
