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.
The private sector gained 428,000 jobs in August, especially within large companies, according to payroll giant ADP, a tentative sign of a continuing economic recovery despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ryan Davis is a Senior Manager, Assurance, at BPM LLP in San Francisco. He has over 10 years of public accounting experience, serving both public and private companies in a variety of industries. Ryan is well versed in the financial services industry where he has served alternative investment, marketplace lending and broker-dealer companies, and also provides audit and consultation services on all types of employee benefit plans.
Michael Delehanty is president of the Community Home Lenders Association and chief financial officer of Mountain West Financial, based in Redlands, Calif.
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:
