FROM today, residential properties in China will be charged a full transaction tax if they are sold within five years of purchase, the Ministry of Finance said.

For "ordinary" homes held for five years or more, no tax will be levied while for "non-ordinary" houses, only the profit will be taxed after five years.

In Shanghai, "ordinary" homes are those no larger than 140 square meters and priced at less than 2.45 million yuan within the Inner Ring Road, or below 1.4 million yuan if between the Inner and Outer Ring roads, or below 980,000 yuan if beyond the Outer Ring Road.