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.
Michelle Canaan is the manager of insurance research for the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.
Kelly Cusick is a managing director with Deloitte Consulting LLP in Chicago and advises insurance clients on transformational initiatives related to their underwriting, product management and actuarial functions.
Alyssa Place is the editor-in-chief of Employee Benefit News and has been with the team since 2019. Her work covers mental health, DEI, women at work, financial wellness, retirement and workplace culture. She was previously a video producer at Yahoo Finance with a focus on personal finance and career development, and has also worked for ABC World News with David Muir and ABC 20/20. Her writing has appeared on amNew York, The Daily Beast, Yahoo Finance, Huffington Post and ABCNews.com. Alyssa graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism and sociology from New York University.
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:
