Employer moneyBuy it, then claim it back

Expensing chit in Expensify

If your company runs Expensify, you are probably not looking at a perk allowance at all — you are looking at an expense policy, and that is the better outcome. A business-expense reimbursement for work equipment under your employer's accountable plan is generally not taxable to you, where a lifestyle stipend generally is. Same device, same money, different line on your W-2.

How to get it covered

Every step below comes from the platform's own documentation, linked beside it, with the date we read it.

1
The fastest route is email: forward your chit receipt straight to receipts@expensify.com from an address registered on your Expensify account, and SmartScan reads it.
Source: Expensify Help — Create an expense · Checked 2026-08-10
2
Or on the web, click the Scan icon in the left navigation and drag the invoice PDF in, then pick the workspace or recipient.
Source: Expensify Help — Create an expense · Checked 2026-08-10
3
To enter it by hand: Create, then Create Expense, then Manual. Enter the amount and currency and click Next.
Source: Expensify Help — Create an expense · Checked 2026-08-10
4
Choose the workspace or individual, then add the description, the category, any tags, and set whether it is reimbursable. Click Create expense.
Source: Expensify Help — Create an expense · Checked 2026-08-10

What your receipt has to show

Expensify accepts JPG, PNG, GIF, PDF, TIFF, HTML, RTF, DOCX and XML. A single receipt may be up to 24 MB, a forwarded email up to 25 MB, and an image must be at least 160 by 160 pixels.
Source: Expensify Help — Create an expense · Checked 2026-08-10

Straight to their instructions

Ask your manager

Most people never ask, and the ones who do write it badly — leading with what they want instead of what it does for the work. Fill in two fields and send this.

Where the money comes fromWhat you do

Expensing an AI voice recorderDraft

Hi —

I'd like to expense a chit AI voice recorder ($129). It's a card-sized recorder I hold down to capture what was said, and it writes the notes and the follow-ups afterwards.

As account executive, most of what I need to write down later gets said out loud first — in meetings, on site, in the car afterwards. This closes the gap between saying it and it being written down, which is where things currently get lost.

I'd put it through Expensify. I'll have an itemised invoice — merchant, date, line items, total and payment method — so there's nothing outstanding for the receipt.

Happy to write up how it goes after a month if that's useful.

Questions

Good questions

Which category should I file it under?

We cannot tell you, and neither can Expensify — it publishes only that there are default categories like fees, office supplies and travel, without an enumerated list, and most companies customise theirs anyway. Pick your company's closest equivalent, commonly an office-supplies or equipment category, and describe the item plainly in the description field.

Can I just forward the receipt email?

Yes. Expensify's SmartScan reads receipts forwarded to receipts@expensify.com, provided you send from a contact method registered on your account. That is the shortest path from our email to your expense report.

What file formats does Expensify take?

JPG, PNG, GIF, PDF, TIFF, HTML, RTF, DOCX and XML. A single receipt can be up to 24 MB and a forwarded email up to 25 MB. Our invoice is a small PDF, well inside both.

Do I need a receipt for something this size?

Assume yes. The $75 figure people remember is an IRS substantiation rule for travel, transportation and entertainment under 26 CFR §1.274-5, not a general exemption and not an Expensify setting — Expensify's own $75 is the threshold for auto-generating eReceipts on card transactions. A $129 device is over it either way.

Will I be taxed on the reimbursement?

Generally not, if it runs through your employer's accountable plan as a business expense — that is the point of the distinction. Treas. Reg. §1.62-2 sets three conditions: a business connection, substantiation, and returning any excess. This is not tax advice, and your employer's policy decides how it is treated.

Buy one and expense it See the specs

Other platforms

This is general information, not tax advice. How a reimbursement is taxed depends on the plan your employer wrote, and only they — or your own accountant — can tell you which one you are spending from.

chit has no partnership with, and no endorsement from, any platform named on this site. These are notes on how their published process works, nothing more.

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