Alyssa Maloof Whately || Atlanta Spotlight

By Staff Writer Atlanta Trend

• Apr 30, 2026

Tax Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean tax season is over for everyone. For some, it’s just the beginning of a longer financial journey, as overall tax debt continues to rise amongst everyday Georgians.

Each year, thousands of taxpayers across Georgia face unexpected IRS balances, penalties or notices. In 2024 alone, the IRS assessed $17.8 billion in additional taxes from late-filed returns and collected nearly $3.2 billion from delinquent taxpayers across the country. Behind these numbers are individuals and families who are unsure what to do next.

What does this mean for Georgia taxpayers? It’s essential to stay on top of your IRS status year-round. Tax debt is easier to fall into than some may assume. Late filing, underpayment, life events, and many other factors might result in enforcement action. One missed filing deadline or underpayment can quickly snowball into penalties and interest that make the original balance feel unmanageable.

As a tax attorney who has worked closely with taxpayers navigating IRS debt for many years, I’ve seen firsthand how quickly confusion can turn into crippling pressure. And to make matters worse, the IRS is integrating AI into its traditionally rigorous auditing process, accelerating enforcement, uncovering more discrepancies than ever, and disproportionately affecting individuals who lack access to high-cost legal support.With limited tax relief options and even more taxpayers under intense scrutiny, there was a significant gap – until now.

Historically, taxpayers with IRS debt have two choices: attempt to navigate the system alone or hire a tax resolution firm or attorney. The tax relief industry has long been dominated by high-cost, opaque services that depend heavily on fear-based marketing, leaving taxpayers feeling they have no option at all.

Paying thousands of dollars upfront with no visibility or clear understanding of what is going on is no longer acceptable. Particularly for middle-income taxpayers who cannot justify or afford the costs.

This gap is exactly what EasAly was built to solve. Developed in Georgia, EasAly was designed to bring clarity, speed and affordability to this broken model by leveraging technology, putting the power that was traditionally only accessible to tax attorneys in the hands of everyday taxpayers.

The platform translates IRS data into plain English and gives users a clear picture of where they stand, making decision-making much easier. After securely connecting to a taxpayer's financial IRS profile, EasAly’s technology can analyze transcripts and map out options side-by-side, including payment plans, penalty relief, or an offer in compromise.

Georgia taxpayers can now affordably equip themselves with the tools to face an intimidating tax debt situation and avoid high retainers, unpredictable fees, and fear-based sales tactics.

This power shift has been a long time coming. Tools like EasAly represent a broader shift from reactive to proactive and from uncertain to educated. I would challenge that this shift shouldn’t stop at tax resolution but should extend to how we think about access to all financial and legal systems. We’re moving toward a model where technology can simplify complexity, reduce costs, and empower individuals to make informed decisions without unnecessary hurdles.

A Real-Time Example of Why Access to Tax Insight Matters

 
A recent court decision illustrates how impactful this shift can be. In Kwong v. United States, (Fed. Cl. Nov. 25, 2025), the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that IRC §7508A(d) required a mandatory postponement of federal tax deadlines throughout the COVID-19 disaster period — from January 20, 2020, through July 10, 2023 and that the IRS therefore lacked authority to assess failure-to-file penalties, failure-to-pay penalties, or underpayment interest during that window. The decision means that any tax obligation with a deadline falling in that three-and-a-half-year period was, as a matter of law, postponed to July 11, 2023, and any interest or penalties already paid on those obligations may be recoverable through a tax refund claim. If taxpayers still owe the liability, they may be due a penalty abatement. 

The impact is substantial. The largest refund opportunities are concentrated in tax years 2019 through 2022, where original filing and payment deadlines fell squarely inside the Kwong window and where failure-to-pay penalties and underpayment interest accrued for the longest stretches before taxpayers resolved their balances. The amount of improperly assessed interest and penalties collected during this period is estimated to be in the billions.

The window to act is narrow. Under IRC §6511, refund and abatement claims must generally be filed within three years of the legally recognized filing deadline, which, under Kwong, is July 11, 2023. That makes July 10, 2026, the hard deadline for most taxpayers to file a protective claim. Once that date passes, the claim is barred, regardless of how the ongoing appeals ultimately resolve, which could take place years from now.

Using the same underlying technology developed for EasAly, we launched a companion platform, www.covidtaxrefunds.com, that lets taxpayers check their eligibility for FREE. The tool analyzes a user's account, identifies penalties and interest assessed against deadlines that fell within the Kwong window, and prepares the Form 843 protective claim — removing the complexity that typically keeps individual taxpayers and small businesses from pursuing IRS refunds on their own. With the July 10, 2026, cutoff approaching, that speed is the difference between a refund and a forfeited claim.

Tax debt can feel isolating and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re a Georgia taxpayer who missed this year’s deadline or owes money to the IRS, the most important step is to engage early.

Ignoring notices will only increase penalties and limit your options. Instead, take the time to understand your situation fully. Review your IRS transcripts, confirm what you owe, and explore the programs that may be available to you. 

There are more options than most people realize. With the right tools and information, tax debt becomes a problem that can be understood, evaluated, and resolved. This is the clarity we aimed to provide by developing the EasAly platform.

As both a tax attorney and someone deeply invested in helping Georgians navigate these challenges, I believe we’re entering a new era, one where the system is more transparent, more accessible, and ultimately more fair. That is a change worth paying attention to.

Alyssa Maloof Whatley is the Co-Founder and Chief Tax Counsel of EasAly, a breakthrough tax resolution fintech company that helps people with tax debt take action quickly and affordably. An experienced tax attorney with a proven track record of reducing tax liability, Alyssa is a fierce advocate dedicated to navigating the complexities of the IRS. Her background, from starting her own law firm in her 20s, to assisting a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, studying conflict resolution in Ecuador, and working on a gubernatorial campaign, has given her a rare, multidimensional perspective on financial hardship and power structures.