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.
Anna Garcia is the founder and managing partner of Altari Ventures, a New York-based early-stage enterprise fintech fund focused on data-driven enterprise intelligence, capital markets and asset management technology, CFO tech stack, embedded finance and decentralized/centralized infrastructure convergence. Altari invests primarily in pre-seed and seed stage opportunities.
Ashley Tison, Esq. is the founder of OZPros, an opportunity zone consultancy. A consultant and attorney on opportunity zones, tax-advantaged structures and investing strategies, he has advised over 500 commercial property investors, family offices, investment advisors and high net worth individuals on how to maximize their tax savings in real estate investments.
Nancy K. Klotz, MD, MBA, FACP, is chief medical officer at Brighton Health Plan Solutions, where she is responsible for clinical strategy across the company's various business segments.
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:
