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.
People who order groceries for delivery may be using digital payments or a plastic card to pay for their food, but the person picking up the groceries may be making a separate payment at the point of pickup — and in the process, influencing the global shift toward contactless payments.
Roger Brown is head of tax & regulatory affairs for Lukka. He has more than 27 years of experience as an international tax and financial products lawyer. He spent a decade in the national office of the IRS writing regulations and other guidance and a similar period as a partner in Ernst & Young’s financial institutions & products office. After being tasked to be lead international tax partner on a number of EY’s largest banking, insurance and other capital markets clients — often bridging the intersection of tax and capital markets regulations — he was one of EY’s leaders in the fintech and blockchain space prior to joining Lukka.
Even digitally savvy organizations face a vexing dilemma when sending emergency funds: The neediest recipients often have little other option than to receive paper checks.
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:
