A. WHAT AMOUNTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FORGIVENESS?

Below is directly from the US Treasury Interim Rules.

(We added the BOLD to ITEMS 5 - 8 that are new/different from last year)

(1) Payroll costs.[9] Payroll costs consist of compensation to employees (whose principal place of residence is the United States) in the form of salary, wages, commissions, or similar compensation; cash tips or the equivalent (based on employer records of past tips or, in the absence of such records, a reasonable, good-faith employer estimate of such tips); payment for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave; allowance for separation or dismissal; payment for the provision of employee benefits consisting of group health care or group life, disability, vision, or dental insurance, including insurance premiums, and retirement; payment of state and local taxes assessed on compensation of employees; and for an independent contractor or sole proprietor, wages, commissions, income, or net earnings from self-employment, or similar compensation. Payroll costs that are qualified wages taken into account in determining the Employer Retention Credit are not eligible for loan forgiveness.[10]

(2) Interest payments on any business mortgage obligation on real or personal property that was incurred before February 15, 2020 (but not any prepayment or payment of principal).

(3) Payments on business rent obligations on real or personal property under a lease agreement in force before February 15, 2020.

(4) Business utility payments for the distribution of electricity, gas, water, transportation, telephone, or internet access for which service began before February 15, 2020.

(5) Covered operations expenditures. A covered operations expenditure is a payment for any business software or cloud computing service that facilitates business operations, product or service delivery, the processing, payment, or tracking of payroll expenses, human resources, sales and billing functions, or accounting or tracking of supplies, inventory, records and expenses.[11]

(6) Covered property damage costs. A covered property damage cost is a cost related to property damage and vandalism or looting due to public disturbances that occurred during 2020 that was not covered by insurance or other compensation.[12]

(7) Covered supplier costs. A covered supplier cost means an expenditure made by a borrower to a supplier of goods for the supply of goods that—(A) are essential to the operations of the borrower at the time at which the expenditure is made; and (B) is made pursuant to a contract, order, or purchase order—(i) in effect at any time before the covered period with respect to the applicable covered loan; or (ii) with respect to perishable goods, in effect before or at any time during the covered period with respect to the applicable covered loan.[13]

(8) Covered worker protection expenditures. A covered worker protection expenditure:
(A) Means an operating or a capital expenditure to facilitate the adaptation of the business activities of an entity to comply with requirements established or guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or any equivalent requirements established or guidance issued by a State or local government related to the maintenance of standards for sanitation, social distancing, or any other worker or customer safety requirement related to COVID-19, during the period beginning on March 1, 2020 and ending the date on which the national emergency declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) expires;

(B) may include—
(i) the purchase, maintenance, or renovation of assets that create or expand—
(I) a drive-through window facility;
(II) an indoor, outdoor, or combined air or air pressure ventilation or filtration system;
(III) a physical barrier such as a sneeze guard;
(IV) an expansion of additional indoor, outdoor, or combined business space;
(V) an onsite or offsite health screening capability; or
(VI) other assets relating to the compliance with the requirements or guidance described in subsection (A), as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor; and
(ii) the purchase of—
(I) covered materials described in § 328.103(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation;
(II) particulate filtering facepiece respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, including those approved only for emergency use authorization; or
(III) other kinds of personal protective equipment, as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor; and

(C) does not include residential real property or intangible property.[14]

This interim final rule uses the term “nonpayroll costs” to refer to the payments described in (2)-(8) above. Eligible nonpayroll costs cannot exceed 40 percent of the loan forgiveness amount.[15] A borrower may receive forgiveness for the nonpayroll costs described in (5), (6), (7) and (8) only if SBA had not yet remitted a forgiveness payment on the borrower's loan to the borrower's PPP lender as of December 27, 2020 (the date of the Economic Aid Act's enactment).