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.
Angela Sposato is a senior vice president and the chief HR officer for 5W Public Relations.
Claude A. Hanley Jr. is a partner at Capital Performance Group.
Paola Peralta is an Associate Editor at Employee Benefit News and has been with the team for five years. She is a proud UCF journalism graduate who got her start through a Dow Jones News Fund business internship and has since spent the majority of her career covering technology, healthcare, financial wellness and professional development across various industries.
Paola is especially passionate about telling stories that focus around workplace culture and employee experience such as Gen Z's struggles to navigate the workplace, how AI is disrupting businesses and the realities of diversity and equity efforts, as well as how current events are affecting employees personally and professionally. Her reporting on EBN's podcast, Perk Up!, earned the team a regional silver award from the AZBEE Award of Excellence in 2025. She has also interviewed several winners of EBN's Excellence in Benefits Awards, including top CEOs and CHROs from Lyft and Walmart.
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:
