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.
Ed Young is a senior director at Moody’s Analytics. In his role he works to meet customer needs with capabilities for credit risk quantification, capital planning, model risk management and IFS 9/CECL compliant allowance processes. Prior to joining Moody’s Analytics, Ed spent ten years at the Federal Reserve working on supervisory initiatives for capital planning, liquidity planning and model risk management. Earlier in his career he gained experience in balance sheet management working at a large regional bank.
Ashley Slisz is an associate in the law firm Withers Bergman's private client and tax team. She focuses on tax and estate planning for high net worth individuals and their families.
James R. Brockway is of counsel in the private client and tax team at the law firm Withers Bergman.
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:
