@tk01kj - You don't "apply" for EITC, it is automatically calcuated by TT based on the IRS tables. It is simply a tax credit for your EARNED oncome. Look at the table on page 46 of the link below.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
The self-employment tax is really paying for Medicare and Social Security tax that you would pay if you were a a W-2 employee.
Everyone has to pay the social security and medicare tax, but if you are W-2 it is withheld from your paycheck, if you are self-employed, it is collected via your tax return. it is NOT "INCOME"; it is a separate "Medicare and Social Security" tax and that is why you owe it regardless of your INCOME tax situation.
as far as the car tax, it depends on the state you live in as those taxes are state driven and not federally driven. Many states have both retail taxes and property taxes so it makes sense you could pay both. It could just be the way the state administers property tax resuling in a timing difference, so there was no property tax this year. Contact your local taxing authority to understand what happened to the property tax.
does that make sense and answer your questions>
