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.
Kara Watkins is the Inclusive Savings and Investing Program Manager at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program.
Karen Andres is project director of the Retirement Savings Initiative at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program.
Eric Blancke is Embroker's Head of Pricing. Blancke leads a team of insurance professionals dedicated to making business insurance radically simple. While he began his career as a reserving actuary at Deloitte Consulting, he has explored a wide variety of roles within the insurance sector. Previously, at CNA, Eric served as a medical malpractice pricing actuary, director of commercial claim analytics, and an assistant vice president of underwriting strategy, operations, and analytics.
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:
