TAX offices in Hampshire are set to close as HM Revenue and Customs moves to slash its number of offices.

The HMRC office in Southampton has been earmarked to close as early as 2019 and two offices Portsmouth shutting between 2018 and 2026.

The move comes as HMRC plans to close 137 offices under a modernisation programme.

There are currently around 58,000 employees spread over 170 offices across the UK, ranging in size from 6,000 staff to fewer than 10.

Thirteen regional offices will be set up across the country to consolidate its workforce including one in Croydon and one in Stratford.

HMRC says it expects between 5,000 and 5,300 full-time equivalent employees will work in the Stratford regional centre and 2,500 to 2,800 full-time equivalent employees in the Croydon regional centre.

But the majority of its existing offices in London, South East and East of England will close by 2020-21 as it moves most employees into the new regional centres.

The government body said that where offices are a long way from a new regional centre and it is not possible for employees to move closer to one, they will do everything it reasonably can to help them to find new roles, in an effort of reduce redundancies.

These roles may be elsewhere in the civil service or outside of it.

Lin Homer, HMRC’s Chief Executive, said: "HMRC is committed to modern, regional centres serving every region and nation in the UK, with skilled and varied jobs and development opportunities, while also ensuring jobs are spread throughout the UK and not concentrated in the capital.

"HMRC has too many expensive, isolated and out-dated offices. This makes it difficult for us to collaborate, modernise our ways of working, and make the changes we need to transform our service to customers and clamp down further on the minority who try to cheat the system.

"The new regional centres in Stratford and Croydon will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in areas with lower rents.

"They will also make a big contribution to the economy of the region providing high-quality, skilled jobs and supporting the Government’s commitment to a national recovery that benefits all parts of the UK."

But the announcement today has sparked fears over how effective of HMRC will be with the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union saying the cuts would pose a ''significant threat'' to the operation of HMRC as well as to the working lives of staff.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ''No-one should be in any doubt that, if implemented, these proposals would be absolutely devastating for HMRC and the people who work there.

''Closing this many offices would pose a significant threat to the operation of HMRC, its service to the public and the working lives of staff, and the need for parliamentary scrutiny of the plans is undeniable and urgent.''