In a statement Tuesday, the IRS said it routed the electronically filed returns to a computing center in Memphis, Tenn., after determining it would take some time to fix problems at the computer center that handles returns sent to Austin, Texas, Philadelphia and Andover, Mass.

Those returns have been processed, and taxpayers can expect to get their refunds on time, the IRS said.

Tax returns are electronically "postmarked" when sent, and none have been late because of the computer malfunctions.

The IRS has encouraged taxpayers to file electronically, which can speed a refund and quickly catch common errors. Congress instructed the IRS to work toward electronically receiving 80 percent of tax returns by 2007.