ACA Tax Credit: partial year fully employed, partial year minimally employed questions

[Hornswoggled]

It's open enrollment time now for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and I have a couple of questions relating to how the Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC) works regarding payback at tax time (if your annual earnings ended up higher than originally estimated). I am trying to forecast ahead as to what my tax situation will be for tax year 2020 due to receiving the APTC for part of the year, then being fully employed and off ACA later in the year.

I'm married, and we are a family of 3. I am currently minimally employed (part time intentionally in order to assist other family members.) My current wages qualify us for a tax credit of approximately $2,000/month.

Around mid year 2020, we expect to be ready for my wife and I to get full employment (with employer health insurance included). We would expect to have a combined income of approximately $75,000 for the second half of 2020. This amount would put annual income near or past the upper limit for receiving any APTC at all. Thus, we would need to pay back the APTC received in the first half of the year. My concern is for if I need to prepare to pay back as much as $14,000 in APTC at 2020 tax time.

Would anything offset needing to pay back the full amount of APTC received if annual income ended up being above the qualifying range for getting any APTC?

Would the employer health insurance I get in the second half of the year somehow offset the amount received as an APTC in the first half of the year? A health insurance salesman seemed to allude to this. Is that all nonsense?

Also, is there a maximum cap on APTC repayments at tax time, as TurboTax help seemed to allude to (but did not elaborate on?)

Thanks for any help that can be given on this topic!

[Critter · Accepted solution]

Would anything offset needing to pay back the full amount of APTC received if annual income ended up being above the qualifying range for getting any APTC?   Sorry ... the credit is based on an annual income... so if you believe your income estimate will be too high for the credit then you will will have to repay it on the tax return. 

Would the employer health insurance I get in the second half of the year somehow offset the amount received as an APTC in the first half of the year? A health insurance salesman seemed to allude to this. Is that all nonsense?   That is nonsense.  There is only an exception for folks who get married during the year. 

Also, is there a maximum cap on APTC repayments at tax time, as TurboTax help seemed to allude to (but did not elaborate on?)     This situation  is complicated ... https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/threat-of-tax-credit-repayment-would-reduce-coverage-put-many-families-at-financial

[Hornswoggled]

Thanks so much for the reply; especially the informative link. This is an area of the ACA that is little known. Now I have some of the terms used in it (such as "Premium Tax Credit Repayment Caps") to search on to research my situation further.

Thanks again Critter.