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.
Davide Santonocito is an AI Engineer and QA expert at Sollers Consulting, specializing in ensuring the reliability, performance, and governance of agentic AI systems in insurance.
Brad Medd is Chief Technology Officer at Zinnia, where he leads the development of modern, scalable platforms that power the company's vision. With over 25 years of experience spanning financial services, healthcare, and technology, Brad brings deep expertise in platform innovation, cloud transformation, and agile delivery. Prior to Zinnia, Brad served as Managing Director and SVP at IHS Markit, where he led major technology transformations across diverse asset classes, from leveraged loans to retail brokerage. His approach combines technical depth with a clear focus on enhancing the user experience through thoughtful, future-ready solutions. Brad holds a bachelor degree in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Brandon Batiste is VP of health care innovation at Morgan Health
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:
