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.
Tarun Bhasin is CEO of Kunai.
Beth A. Berk, CPA, CGMA, is an independent recruiter and an actively licensed CPA in Maryland and Virginia and a CGMA with over 25 years of hands-on experience including public accounting (E&Y), consulting (KPMG and DelCor Technology Solutions), accounting (American Cancer Society), internal audit (MoneyLine Telerate), business development and fundraising (professional service firms and community foundation in Virginia), and recruiting within the metropolitan D.C. business community and beyond. She is based in Bethesda, Maryland and can be reached at BethABerk@msn.com or at (301) 767-0670.
An innovative marketing, branding and product professional, Charlotta brings deep knowledge of the specialty supplemental group health insurance market to her executive role at ArmadaCare. She has 30 years of global, strategic-level business leadership experience that spans a multitude of industries. Charlotta has a strong track record of helping companies grow through visionary products and effective marketing and distribution strategies.
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:
