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.
Chet Stagnaro is a consultant for Freed Associates.
Brady Teague is a principal and co-founder of TalentBridge. He is a former Big Four firm CPA, but has spent the past 20 years in executive recruiting, specializing in accounting and finance. TalentBridge is based in Rochester, N.Y., with offices in Charlotte, N.C.; Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis, Minn.; and St. Louis, Mo. TalentBridge’s services include executive and professional search; professional and project staffing; temporary and contract staffing; human resource consulting; outplacement and career transition support.
Cathy Iconis is a CPA based in Atlanta, GA. She has had her own bookkeeping practice for almost 10 years and is also the founder of QBOchat, a resource, and community for QuickBooks Online users. She has been named a 40 Under 40 CPA Practice Advisor Honoree 8 times, is a member of Intuit’s Trainer-Writer Network, and was named one of Accounting Today’s Accountants to Watch. She has recently launched her own QuickBooks Online Training Master Courses as well as a free Facebook Group, Build Your Best QBO Practice.
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:
