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.
Bob Allison is the founder and CEO of PEAR Health Labs.
John McGowan is the founder and CEO of HubSync, a SaaS company with a next-generation tax and accounting automation platform created with the goal of changing how professionals work and how clients interact with CPA firms. He has over 25 years of experience driving technology innovation and investment at Deloitte and KPMG, where he served as a partner-in-charge of tax technology and global chief information officer, respectively. He holds a BSBA and a Master of Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Shann M. Chaudhry, Esq. is the principal attorney and managing member at Shann M. Chaudhry, Attorney at Law, PLLC, based out of San Antonio, Texas.
He helps his clients solve complex matters related to real estate, elder law, estate planning and asset protection. Chaudhry's experience and knowledge have made him a nationally featured media source for Forbes, CNBC and U.S. News & World Report, among others.
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:
