When you say you have a tax liability and a penalty, what did your income consist of? What do you mean you made sure you had a tax liability?
Your tax liability is the amount on line 16 of your 1040 this is simply the amount of tax you owe on your AGI based on the tax table. If this amount is $0, then you would not be able to get any non-refundable tax credits. This amount is then decreased by whatever credits you are eligible for. Some credits are refundable, meaning they can result in a refund, while others are nonrefundable and will just reduce that number down to $0.
Your tax liability is completely different than your withholdings. If you had a tax liability on line 16 of $14,000 and you didn't have anything withheld, and you only had a $7,500 tax credit which would reduce your liability down to $6,500 leaving you with $6,500 due. The $6,500 would then be subject to penalty for not having enough withheld throughout the year. Our system is a pay as you go, so if you don't pay as you go (quarterly or wage withholdings) then you get penalized.
So, a penalty comes when you have a tax liability but did not have enough withheld or did not make enough in estimated payments throughout the year.
Not sure what you mean by a special carve out for those buying an EV?
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