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.
Alex Cardona is COO and co-founder of Codat.
Allen T. Bond, CFA, is a managing director, head of research and portfolio manager at Jensen Investment Management. He joined the firm in 2007 and is responsible for coordinating fundamental research conducted across the investment teams. Additionally, he maintains his portfolio management and analyst responsibilities.
Jesse Parenti is the Founder & National Director of Nine Point Strategies, National Director of Foy & Associates and Founder & National Director of PizzaSurance. Parenti offers over 16 years of commercial lines risk management, specializing in protecting the transportation and food delivery industry, and over six years in the cannabis industry nationally.
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:
