Yes. Sometimes if you use the money for specific things such as higher education, you can exclude the penalty for early withdrawal.

No.  Using the money to pay taxes is NOT an acceptable "other reason" for an exception the early-distribution penalty.

The only permissible "other reason" as an exception to the early-distribution penalty on a distribution from an IRA is if the Form 1099-R has code 1, code J or code S but the distribution was actually made after you had reached age 59½.