The way it was explained to me was that I might as well go for the subsidy
If my wife and I make over X amount this year I will have to reimburse our government for the amount of the subsidy. No penalties ....no interest.
My income has varied a lot in the last 5 years, I may be a long way from qualifying but who knows ?
If this was based purely on 2013 income I doubt we would qualify
but with no penalties why not use some of my money during the year and then write the government a check when I know what my situation is ? Also I have a lot of deductions so I will be looking at the base line and trying to adjust the numbers on my taxes so that we do not cross the threshold
From what I've read, in order to get the subsidy you have to buy the policy via the exchange. If your income drops enough to put you in the subsidy range, I would think that is a qualifying event to purchase on the exchange. There are 2 ways to take the credit. You can take the advanced credit that goes directly to the insurance companies to help pay the premium or you can reconcile the difference when you file your taxes.