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.
Jim Daniels has nearly 40 years of experience and leads UHY's Albany tax practice, which includes oversight of all tax engagements. He has an extensive background serving a variety of entities with tax compliance and planning related to corporate, individual, estate, and state and local taxes. He has vast knowledge of federal, state and local tax planning and multistate taxation.
Bryan Eberle is president of tax solutions at Nepsis, a national financial advisor and investment management firm.
He joined the firm prior to its acquisition of the full-service tax, accounting and consulting firm Sevenich, Butler, Gerlach & Brazil and was instrumental in planning for, and played a crucial role in, expanding Nepsis' tax program and merging the two entities.
Bob Marshall is co-founder and CEO of Whisker Labs. After a family member experienced a
devastating home electrical fire, Bob founded Whisker Labs to create Ting, a sensor and service
that helps detect and prevent electrical hazards before they can start a fire. The company is
partnered with over a dozen US insurance providers seeking to better protect their customers
and mitigate fire-related losses.
As an engineer, Bob is passionate about identifying crucial data that solves big problems – in
this case, Whisker Labs' network of 800,000+ Ting sensors is the most comprehensive data
resource on electrical fires today.
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:
