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.
Blake Christian, CPA, a national Top 25 OZ influencer, is a tax partner at the Salt Lake City office of HCVT LLP. He has over 35 years of experience providing tax consulting and compliance services to clients that include multinational, publicly traded corporations, as well as closely held owner-managed businesses. He has specialized in federal, state and local tax incentive programs, and is leading the firm’s efforts in providing tax consulting services for Qualified Opportunity Zones. He has authored several articles and HCVT Tax Alerts about QOZs and Qualified Opportunity Funds, and has developed unique insights into OZ strategies for real estate developers and investors, as well as for operating business start-ups and expansions. In addition to tax incentive consulting, he provides partnership and individual tax planning and compliance services. His industry experience is broad and includes manufacturing and distribution, service companies, restaurant, shipping and transportation, energy and health care.
Christina Luttrell is SVP of operations at IDology, overseeing product, client solutions and marketing.
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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:
