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.
Andrius Tamosiunas leads TMF Group's transfer pricing and Pillar Two services. He brings over a decade of experience across the full spectrum of transfer pricing, including structuring, compliance, benchmarking and risk assessment. He has overseen numerous global transfer pricing documentation projects and has a strong track record in analysing complex cross-border intercompany transactions, including operational and financial transactions, restructurings, and IP licensing. He also supports multinational companies with a centrally coordinated approach to meeting their Pillar Two tax reporting obligations efficiently and accurately across multiple jurisdictions.
Ram Palaniappan is the founder and CEO of EarnIn, a fintech company that helps people access their earnings as they work and gain more control over their cash flow. A longtime entrepreneur, Ram started EarnIn after advancing pay to employees at his previous company who needed money before payday.
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:
