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.
Nathan Solheim is a Denver-based freelance writer.
David Mayer, CPA, is the national director of Engineered Tax Services. He works closely with the business development team and their CPA partners nationally in connection with ETS’s R&D Tax Credit Services. For the past decade, Mr. Mayer has worked with hundreds of CPAs across the country to assist their clients to claim millions of dollars in R&D tax credits. He has over 20 years of experience providing tax, mergers and acquisitions, and operational consulting services to corporations, partnerships and individuals throughout the U.S. Mr. Mayer has over 15 years of federal and state R&D tax credit experience. He has presented the R&D tax credit at various industry association functions – including the annual AICPA national conference on federal taxes in Washington D.C. Mr. Mayer is a Certified Public Accountant and a former Chairman of the M&A Tax Committee for the NYS Society of CPAs, Manhattan chapter. He is also a member of the AICPA and Beta Gamma Sigma. Mr. Mayer holds a Master in Taxation degree from Bentley College, graduating with high distinction. He also holds a B.S. in accounting from Fairfield University.
Samantha O'Neil is Head of Marketing for Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions.
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:
