Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction when it comes to the things folks claim are "business expenses."
Nice try, not gonna fly
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Depending on your line of work, it's possible you've had to expense some unconventional items here and there for perfectly legitimate reasons that look very strange on paper. In other cases, you've been on the receiving end of those expense reports and have spotted some doozies listed by employees trying to get away with some interesting forms of "entertainment" on business trips. This list might sound like something from an episode of The Office, but these are real expenses that were either accepted or rejected by finance. Unlike fudging your expense reports, these 16 strategies will build trust with your boss.
Hay is for horses
When your job is fashion editor for a magazine, you find yourself picking up some pretty interesting photoshoot props. For one particular setup that took place on a ranch, Jane F. of Venice, California needed to keep the inhabitants happy. "I expensed carrots for horses," she recalls. Fortunately, the finance department didn't question that one after a brief explanation. Looking ahead to tax time, check out these deductions you can't afford to miss.
A real supermarket sweep
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"We had a person who worked in advertising sales who bought gift cards for gourmet baskets to give to clients, but then used them for her groceries," says a department manager for a publishing company who wished to remain anonymous. The sneaky sales rep got away with the scheme for a period of time before the jig was up. Find out the 14 secret signs you may be getting fired.
Just plain wrong
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While working with a particularly rowdy team, Tara R. found herself facing an expense report from a group of employees that seemed seriously suspect. "They tried to expense strippers…and they masked that as booze, which they also couldn't expense," she says. Needless to say, that expense wasn't accepted. Keep these office party etiquette tips in mind the next time you're celebrating with your colleagues.
We're all for education but…
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Those school supply lists can be lengthy, and one dad decided his company should foot the bill for the whole thing. "I noticed one employee had an exceptionally long list of office supplies expensed one month, including things like a protractor and graphing calculator," says Francine C. of New York. "It was basically everything his kids needed for that school year. I would have been sympathetic if I didn't also know much he makes!" These are a teacher's best tricks for buying back-to-school supplies.
For whom the quarter tolls
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"I worked for a flashy guy with a $2.5 million house and we shared an assistant. He was considered far more important than me," remembers Suzie L., a lawyer in Florida. "I needed help one day but our assistant said she was busy. She was expensing out a single 25¢ toll receipt for him. He submitted a receipt for…25¢." Apparently rich people never waste their money on tolls—of these 13 other things.
It's the cat's meow
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When Jane F. wanted to score a great deal on a photoshoot location, she increased her chances by gifting the property manager (who happened to be a nun!) a cat toy for her beloved feline. "She did cut me a great deal," says Jane, who said the money guys in her office did allow her to expense the toy. These 12 rules to becoming a master at persuasion can help you get what you want.
Spanx a lot
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As a Hollywood publicist of more than 20 years, Tiffany M. has had to expense her fair share of items requested by talent. Among the more memorable items? Spanx for an actress who came to a photo shoot ill-prepared. "She was asked to bring her own foundations and ignored the request," says the flustered flack. "I had to run out and purchase a bunch of different styles and sizes of Spanx because she wouldn't give us a straight answer on what she needed. I love Spanx but I've never spent so much on them in my life. Thankfully accounting was understanding—this had happened before." Learn about the 25 bad bosses you would never want to work for.
More naughty than nice
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The holidays are a hectic time of year and it isn't out of the norm for employees to attempt multitasking at work to get things done efficiently. However, one employee took it a little too far. "The company I work for has a policy that if you work through lunch, they will pay for your meal," says Holly K. of Ohio. "I had one employee submit an expense for her family's personalized Christmas cards. She said she had been working around the clock and had to design and order them during her lunch break and would rather we pay for those than her actual lunch. I had to explain that's not the way this works." Find out the 13 social media posts that could get you fired.
That's a lot of fruit flavor
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While on a business trip, one executive sent an assistant out for five bags of a specific candy—Tropical Starburst. The flavor was non-negotiable, they had to be the tropical variety. After scouring drugstores and markets for the sugary squares, the assistant was told to put the candy on her expense report. It got bounced back, leaving the assistant on the hook for $20 worth of Tropical Starburst until a different higher up learned of the situation and paid her back personally. Meanwhile, this is the most popular candy the year you were born.
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The 12 Craziest Things People Have Tried to Expense at Work, Source:https://www.rd.com/advice/work-career/craziest-things-people-have-tried-to-expense/