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.
Kristen Keats is the founder and CEO of Breakaway Bookkeeping and Advising.
George Hosfield is Senior Director, Home Insurance, for LexisNexis Risk Solutions. He is responsible for establishing the strategic direction of the home insurance business, as well as working with customers, prospects and the product development team to create the solutions that meet insurers’ needs.
Hosfield has been with RELX Group since 1999 working in various operational and strategy roles within the Legal & Professional business of LexisNexis and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Most recently, he supported the insurance business as part of the strategy and business development team, advancing company expansion through the acquisitions of Wunelli, Coplogic, iyeTek, policereports.com and Mapflow.
Hosfield earned a bachelor’s in English from the University of Virginia and a master’s in business administration from the University of Richmond.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said he will introduce legislation to tax what he called the “obscene wealth gains” from billionaires during the coronavirus crisis.
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:
