Reimbursement Checklist: Working from Home

COVID-19 is forcing more employees to work from home. While this would have been the ideal time for most US citizens to attempt expensing their work-from-home purchases for the first time, ironically, United States tax reforms passed in 2017 virtually eliminated most employees’ abilities to do just that.

The Tax Care and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 eliminated employees’ ability to itemize unreimbursed employee expenses (you can read more about that in the IRS’ tax reform guide here or watch their explanation here). These policies are subject to change during, so we suggest checking the IRS’ website occasionally for updated. But for now, let’s assume that you aren’t able itemize any items at home.

Even if you are not able to fall back on the IRS’ tax deductions for your home office setup, we still recommend having conversations with your manager and HR representatives about potential reimbursements for your at-home work purchases. Here is a checklist of items you’ll want to be cognizant about during those conversations:

Food and Beverages

While some employers like Facebook are giving upfront stipends to their employees to mitigate the additional expenses that their workers are incurring, others are asking employees to log additional expenses to be reimbursed later. We recommend documenting all expenses that your office would provide under normal circumstances, for example:

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Coffee

Connectivity Purchases

If your work requires you to have a high speed connection or to constantly be on the phone for the majority of the day, you may want to review our company’s Travel and Expense policy as many employers’ T&E policies already contain provisions for employees who spend the majority of their time online or on the phone . If you find nothing there and but still were forced to purchase data plans to get your job done, you should certainly check to see if you employer covers:

• Internet Connections
• Phone plans
• Headsets
• Cell Phone

Ergonomic Equipment

This one is a no-brainer. Most of our pre-COVID office setups were either less-than-ideal or non-existent. To keep your work stations as comfortable as possible, make sure you inquire about any items you may need to acquire . For example:

• Laptop Stands
• Ergonomic Keyboards
• Foot Stands
• Seat Cushions

Expensing Through Receipt Snaps

Receipt Snaps makes it easy to submit reports for reimbursement. For any expenses you that you are allowed to submit, make sure to use our reports feature for simple, streamlined expense reports.

– The Receipt Snaps Team