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.
Karin Ajmani is the Chief of Strategic Development for Progyny, a fertility benefits provider.
Rob Whalen is co-founder and CEO of PTO Exchange, a platform that allows employees to self-direct the value of their unused paid time off for other needs and causes.
Joel Sinkin is the president and Terrence Putney, CPA, is the CEO of Transition Advisors LLC, which consults on owner transition in accounting practices nationally, including mergers & acquisitions, succession planning, and structuring owner agreements. Reach them at jsinkin@transitionadvisors.com and tputney@transitionadvisors.com, or (866) 279-8550.
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:
