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.
Lex Boost is the chief executive officer of Leaseweb USA. He is responsible for the development and execution of Leaseweb’s core vision and strategy across the United States. With over 20 years’ experience in the digital industry, he has gained leadership experience from a broad range of organizations and cultures, including both B2B and B2C markets, in startups, as well as large corporations.
Paul Gaynor is the global technology and alliance consulting leader at PwC with responsibility for setting PwC’s network technology and alliance consulting vision and strategy. With more than 25 years of experience at PwC, Paul has provided a broad range of financial, operational and technology consulting services to the firm’s clients in the areas of finance transformation, working capital optimization, ERP implementation and risk management.
Ed Zollars, CPA, is an instructor at Kaplan Financial Education and a frequent contributor to the site Current Federal Tax Developments. With more than 30 years’ experience as a CPA and tax expert, he is a graduate of Arizona State University where he received the Moeur Award for academic achievement.
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:
