Can I rent my own property to myself and charge my employer?

Question

Is there anything legally wrong (assuming I'm not violating a company policy, and I'm reporting taxes correctly) with owning say a VRBO or AirB&B rental property and renting it to myself for travel purposes and receiving an expense reimbursement from my employer (W2 - large company)? I am fully aware of how to legally record this for taxes - I am not asking a financial question.

The situation is that I travel frequently to a city where I own a VRBO rental in close proximity to the company I work for. And VRBO rentals are allowed in our travel policy if they are comparable to hotel rates - preferably lower.

I'm fairly certain I'm not violating a company policy. I see restrictions on things like getting expense reimbursements for private aircraft fuel etc. But, nothing about renting a hotel / house to yourself and expensing it. Is there any other policy I should look for that I might be violating?

Answer 1

There is a clear conflict of interest - or the potential for the appearance of a conflict of interest - here. On the one hand, you are supposed to be looking for a good deal for your employer - within reason, of course. On the other hand, you want to make as much money for yourself as you can by claiming as high a rental fee as is reasonable. Most employers have policies against this. This is like hiring your side company as a vendor. You should follow your employer's policies for making sure his is totally above board, or just stay elsewhere.