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.
Dr. Jason Tibbels is a family physician and the chief medical officer of the specialty care platform Lantern. He is also a member of NCQA and the Texas Medical Board, and he previously served as Chief Medical Officer of Teladoc
Gregory Bernstein is the co-founder and CEO of The New Industrial Corporation, an investment company that specializes in project development at the intersection of venture and infrastructure capital. He is the co-founder of Reindustrialize, has been a venture capitalist with both EQT Group and Acequia Capital, and a ship captain in the U.S. Coast Guard.
As vice president for strategy at Sovos, Christiaan Van Der Valk leads research into trends in the market and tax legislation. His insight and expertise are instrumental in determining business strategy and when to buy, build or partner to create solutions that meet emerging trends. He is an internationally recognized voice on e-business strategy, law, policy, best practice and commercial issues. He was elected a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow in 2000. He is the vice-chair of the Global Exchange Network Association (GENA) and chairs the CIAT (Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations) Digitalization Dialogue.
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:
