diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs
index 8027219b1af..1987c6f080a 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE NamedFieldPuns #-}
 {-|
 A simple 'Amount' is some quantity of money, shares, or anything else.
 It has a (possibly null) 'CommoditySymbol' and a numeric quantity:
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ module Hledger.Data.Amount (
   noPrice,
   oneLine,
   amountstyle,
+  commodityStylesFromAmounts,
   styleAmount,
   styleAmountExceptPrecision,
   amountUnstyled,
@@ -105,6 +107,7 @@ module Hledger.Data.Amount (
   mixedAmountStripPrices,
   -- ** arithmetic
   mixedAmountCost,
+  mixedAmountCostPreservingPrecision,
   divideMixedAmount,
   multiplyMixedAmount,
   divideMixedAmountAndPrice,
@@ -153,12 +156,14 @@ import Data.Semigroup ((<>))
 import qualified Data.Text as T
 import qualified Data.Text.Lazy.Builder as TB
 import Data.Word (Word8)
-import Safe (headDef, lastDef, lastMay)
+import Safe (headDef, lastDef, lastMay, headMay)
 import Text.Printf (printf)
 
 import Hledger.Data.Types
 import Hledger.Data.Commodity
 import Hledger.Utils
+import Data.List.Extra (groupSort)
+import Data.Maybe (mapMaybe)
 
 deriving instance Show MarketPrice
 
@@ -202,6 +207,53 @@ oneLine = def{displayOneLine=True, displayPrice=False}
 -- | Default amount style
 amountstyle = AmountStyle L False (Precision 0) (Just '.') Nothing
 
+-- | Given an ordered list of amounts (typically in parse order),
+-- build a map from their commodity names to standard commodity
+-- display styles, inferring styles as per docs, eg:
+-- "the format of the first amount, adjusted to the highest precision of all amounts".
+-- Can return an error message eg if inconsistent number formats are found.
+-- (Though, these amounts may have come from multiple files, so we
+-- shouldn't assume they use consistent number formats.
+-- Currently we don't enforce that even within a single file,
+-- and this function never reports an error.)
+commodityStylesFromAmounts :: [Amount] -> Either String (M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle)
+commodityStylesFromAmounts amts =
+  Right $ M.fromList commstyles
+  where
+    commamts = groupSort [(acommodity as, as) | as <- amts]
+    commstyles = [(c, canonicalStyleFrom $ map astyle as) | (c,as) <- commamts]
+
+-- TODO: should probably detect and report inconsistencies here.
+-- Though, we don't have the info for a good error message, so maybe elsewhere.
+-- | Given a list of amount styles (assumed to be from parsed amounts
+-- in a single commodity), in parse order, choose a canonical style.
+-- This is:
+-- the general style of the first amount, 
+-- with the first digit group style seen,
+-- with the maximum precision of all.
+--
+canonicalStyleFrom :: [AmountStyle] -> AmountStyle
+canonicalStyleFrom [] = amountstyle
+canonicalStyleFrom ss@(s:_) =
+  s{asprecision=prec, asdecimalpoint=Just decmark, asdigitgroups=mgrps}
+  where
+    -- precision is maximum of all precisions
+    prec = maximumStrict $ map asprecision ss
+    -- identify the digit group mark (& group sizes)
+    mgrps = headMay $ mapMaybe asdigitgroups ss
+    -- if a digit group mark was identified above, we can rely on that;
+    -- make sure the decimal mark is different. If not, default to period.
+    defdecmark =
+      case mgrps of
+        Just (DigitGroups '.' _) -> ','
+        _                        -> '.'
+    -- identify the decimal mark: the first one used, or the above default,
+    -- but never the same character as the digit group mark.
+    -- urgh.. refactor..
+    decmark = case mgrps of
+                Just _ -> defdecmark
+                _      -> headDef defdecmark $ mapMaybe asdecimalpoint ss
+
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Amount
 
@@ -269,6 +321,13 @@ amountCost a@Amount{aquantity=q, aprice=mp} =
       Just (UnitPrice  p@Amount{aquantity=pq}) -> p{aquantity=pq * q}
       Just (TotalPrice p@Amount{aquantity=pq}) -> p{aquantity=pq * signum q}
 
+-- | Like amountCost, but then re-apply the display precision of the
+-- original commodity.
+amountCostPreservingPrecision :: Amount -> Amount
+amountCostPreservingPrecision a@Amount{astyle=AmountStyle{asprecision}} =
+  a'{astyle=astyle'{asprecision=asprecision}}
+  where a'@Amount{astyle=astyle'} = amountCost a
+
 -- | Replace an amount's TotalPrice, if it has one, with an equivalent UnitPrice.
 -- Has no effect on amounts without one.
 -- Also increases the unit price's display precision to show one extra decimal place,
@@ -618,6 +677,11 @@ mapMixedAmount f (Mixed as) = Mixed $ map f as
 mixedAmountCost :: MixedAmount -> MixedAmount
 mixedAmountCost = mapMixedAmount amountCost
 
+-- | Like mixedAmountCost, but then re-apply the display precision of the
+-- original commodity.
+mixedAmountCostPreservingPrecision :: MixedAmount -> MixedAmount
+mixedAmountCostPreservingPrecision = mapMixedAmount amountCostPreservingPrecision
+
 -- | Divide a mixed amount's quantities by a constant.
 divideMixedAmount :: Quantity -> MixedAmount -> MixedAmount
 divideMixedAmount n = mapMixedAmount (divideAmount n)
@@ -953,6 +1017,41 @@ tests_Amount = tests "Amount" [
                ,usd (-10) @@ eur 7
                ])
 
+    ,tests "commodityStylesFromAmounts" $ [
+
+      -- Journal similar to the one on #1091:
+      -- 2019/09/24
+      --     (a)            1,000.00
+      -- 
+      -- 2019/09/26
+      --     (a)             1000,000
+      --
+      test "1091a" $ do
+        commodityStylesFromAmounts [
+           nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just ',') Nothing}
+          ,nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 2) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3]))}
+          ]
+         @?=
+          -- The commodity style should have period as decimal mark
+          -- and comma as digit group mark.
+          Right (M.fromList [
+            ("", AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3])))
+          ])
+        -- same journal, entries in reverse order
+      ,test "1091b" $ do
+        commodityStylesFromAmounts [
+           nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 2) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3]))}
+          ,nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just ',') Nothing}
+          ]
+         @?=
+          -- The commodity style should have period as decimal mark
+          -- and comma as digit group mark.
+          Right (M.fromList [
+            ("", AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3])))
+          ])
+
+     ]
+
   ]
 
  ]
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs
index 56d9007b04e..ca1ff548df7 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs
@@ -23,8 +23,9 @@ module Hledger.Data.Journal (
   addTransaction,
   journalBalanceTransactions,
   journalInferMarketPricesFromTransactions,
+  journalInferCommodityStyles,
   journalApplyCommodityStyles,
-  commodityStylesFromAmounts,
+  journalInferAndApplyCommodityStyles,
   journalCommodityStyles,
   journalToCost,
   journalReverse,
@@ -78,7 +79,6 @@ module Hledger.Data.Journal (
   journalEquityAccountQuery,
   journalCashAccountQuery,
   -- * Misc
-  canonicalStyleFrom,
   nulljournal,
   journalCheckBalanceAssertions,
   journalNumberAndTieTransactions,
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ module Hledger.Data.Journal (
   journalApplyAliases,
   -- * Tests
   samplejournal,
-  tests_Journal,
+  tests_Journal
 )
 where
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ import Data.Function ((&))
 import qualified Data.HashTable.Class as H (toList)
 import qualified Data.HashTable.ST.Cuckoo as H
 import Data.List (find, sortOn)
-import Data.List.Extra (groupSort, nubSort)
+import Data.List.Extra (nubSort)
 import qualified Data.Map as M
 import Data.Maybe (catMaybes, fromJust, fromMaybe, isJust, mapMaybe)
 #if !(MIN_VERSION_base(4,11,0))
@@ -653,7 +653,8 @@ journalModifyTransactions d j =
 -- | Check any balance assertions in the journal and return an error message
 -- if any of them fail (or if the transaction balancing they require fails).
 journalCheckBalanceAssertions :: Journal -> Maybe String
-journalCheckBalanceAssertions = either Just (const Nothing) . journalBalanceTransactions True
+journalCheckBalanceAssertions = either Just (const Nothing) . journalBalanceTransactions False True
+  -- TODO: not using global display styles here, do we need to for BC ?
 
 -- "Transaction balancing", including: inferring missing amounts,
 -- applying balance assignments, checking transaction balancedness,
@@ -748,18 +749,20 @@ updateTransactionB t = withRunningBalance $ \BalancingState{bsTransactions}  ->
 -- and (optional) all balance assertions pass. Or return an error message
 -- (just the first error encountered).
 --
--- Assumes journalInferCommodityStyles has been called, since those
--- affect transaction balancing.
+-- Assumes the journal amounts' display styles still have the original number
+-- of decimal places that was parsed (ie, display styles have not yet been normalised),
+-- since this affects transaction balancing.
 --
 -- This does multiple things at once because amount inferring, balance
 -- assignments, balance assertions and posting dates are interdependent.
-journalBalanceTransactions :: Bool -> Journal -> Either String Journal
-journalBalanceTransactions assrt j' =
+--
+journalBalanceTransactions :: Bool -> Bool -> Journal -> Either String Journal
+journalBalanceTransactions usedisplaystyles assrt j' =
   let
     -- ensure transactions are numbered, so we can store them by number
     j@Journal{jtxns=ts} = journalNumberTransactions j'
     -- display precisions used in balanced checking
-    styles = Just $ journalCommodityStyles j
+    styles = if usedisplaystyles then Just $ journalCommodityStyles j else Nothing
     -- balance assignments will not be allowed on these
     txnmodifieraccts = S.fromList $ map paccount $ concatMap tmpostingrules $ jtxnmodifiers j
   in
@@ -991,25 +994,66 @@ checkBalanceAssignmentUnassignableAccountB p = do
 
 --
 
+-- | Get an ordered list of amounts in this journal which can
+-- influence canonical amount display styles. Those are, in
+-- the following order:
+--
+-- * amounts in market price (P) directives (in parse order)
+-- * posting amounts in transactions (in parse order)
+-- * the amount in the final default commodity (D) directive
+--
+-- Transaction price amounts (posting amounts' aprice field) are not included.
+--
+journalStyleInfluencingAmounts :: Journal -> [Amount]
+journalStyleInfluencingAmounts j = 
+  dbg7 "journalStyleInfluencingAmounts" $
+  catMaybes $ concat [
+   [mdefaultcommodityamt]
+  ,map (Just . pdamount) $ jpricedirectives j
+  ,map Just $ concatMap amounts $ map pamount $ journalPostings j
+  ]
+  where
+    -- D's amount style isn't actually stored as an amount, make it into one
+    mdefaultcommodityamt =
+      case jparsedefaultcommodity j of
+        Just (symbol,style) -> Just nullamt{acommodity=symbol,astyle=style}
+        Nothing -> Nothing
+
+-- | Infer commodity display styles for each commodity (see commodityStylesFromAmounts) 
+-- based on the amounts in this journal (see journalStyleInfluencingAmounts), 
+-- and save those inferred styles in the journal.
+-- Can return an error message eg if inconsistent number formats are found.
+journalInferCommodityStyles :: Journal -> Either String Journal
+journalInferCommodityStyles j = 
+  case commodityStylesFromAmounts $ journalStyleInfluencingAmounts j of
+    Left e   -> Left e
+    Right cs -> Right j{jinferredcommodities = dbg7 "journalInferCommodityStyles" cs}
+
+-- | Apply the given commodity display styles to the posting amounts in this journal.
+journalApplyCommodityStyles :: M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle -> Journal -> Journal
+journalApplyCommodityStyles styles j@Journal{jtxns=ts, jpricedirectives=pds} =
+  j {jtxns=map fixtransaction ts
+    ,jpricedirectives=map fixpricedirective pds
+    }
+  where
+    fixtransaction t@Transaction{tpostings=ps} = t{tpostings=map fixposting ps}
+    fixposting p = p{pamount=styleMixedAmount styles $ pamount p
+                    ,pbalanceassertion=fixbalanceassertion <$> pbalanceassertion p}
+    -- balance assertion/assignment amounts, and price amounts, are always displayed
+    -- (eg by print) at full precision
+    fixbalanceassertion ba = ba{baamount=styleAmountExceptPrecision styles $ baamount ba}
+    fixpricedirective pd@PriceDirective{pdamount=a} = pd{pdamount=styleAmountExceptPrecision styles a}
+
 -- | Choose and apply a consistent display style to the posting
 -- amounts in each commodity (see journalCommodityStyles).
 -- Can return an error message eg if inconsistent number formats are found.
-journalApplyCommodityStyles :: Journal -> Either String Journal
-journalApplyCommodityStyles j@Journal{jtxns=ts, jpricedirectives=pds} =
+journalInferAndApplyCommodityStyles :: Journal -> Either String Journal
+journalInferAndApplyCommodityStyles j =
   case journalInferCommodityStyles j of
     Left e   -> Left e
-    Right j' -> Right j''
+    Right j' -> Right $ journalApplyCommodityStyles allstyles j'
       where
-        styles = journalCommodityStyles j'
-        j'' = j'{jtxns=map fixtransaction ts
-                ,jpricedirectives=map fixpricedirective pds
-                }
-        fixtransaction t@Transaction{tpostings=ps} = t{tpostings=map fixposting ps}
-        fixposting p = p{pamount=styleMixedAmount styles $ pamount p
-                        ,pbalanceassertion=fixbalanceassertion <$> pbalanceassertion p}
-        -- balance assertion amounts are always displayed (by print) at full precision, per docs
-        fixbalanceassertion ba = ba{baamount=styleAmountExceptPrecision styles $ baamount ba}
-        fixpricedirective pd@PriceDirective{pdamount=a} = pd{pdamount=styleAmountExceptPrecision styles a}
+        allstyles = journalCommodityStyles j'
 
 -- | Get the canonical amount styles for this journal, whether (in order of precedence):
 -- set globally in InputOpts,
@@ -1028,66 +1072,6 @@ journalCommodityStyles j =
     defaultcommoditystyle = M.fromList $ catMaybes [jparsedefaultcommodity j]
     inferredstyles        = jinferredcommodities j
 
--- | Collect and save inferred amount styles for each commodity based on
--- the posting amounts in that commodity (excluding price amounts), ie:
--- "the format of the first amount, adjusted to the highest precision of all amounts".
--- Can return an error message eg if inconsistent number formats are found.
-journalInferCommodityStyles :: Journal -> Either String Journal
-journalInferCommodityStyles j = 
-  case
-    commodityStylesFromAmounts $ journalStyleInfluencingAmounts j
-  of
-    Left e   -> Left e
-    Right cs -> Right j{jinferredcommodities = dbg7 "journalInferCommodityStyles" cs}
-
--- | Given a list of amounts, in parse order (roughly speaking; see journalStyleInfluencingAmounts),
--- build a map from their commodity names to standard commodity
--- display formats. Can return an error message eg if inconsistent
--- number formats are found.
---
--- Though, these amounts may have come from multiple files, so we
--- shouldn't assume they use consistent number formats.
--- Currently we don't enforce that even within a single file,
--- and this function never reports an error.
---
-commodityStylesFromAmounts :: [Amount] -> Either String (M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle)
-commodityStylesFromAmounts amts =
-  Right $ M.fromList commstyles
-  where
-    commamts = groupSort [(acommodity as, as) | as <- amts]
-    commstyles = [(c, canonicalStyleFrom $ map astyle as) | (c,as) <- commamts]
-
--- TODO: should probably detect and report inconsistencies here.
--- Though, we don't have the info for a good error message, so maybe elsewhere.
--- | Given a list of amount styles (assumed to be from parsed amounts
--- in a single commodity), in parse order, choose a canonical style.
--- This is:
--- the general style of the first amount, 
--- with the first digit group style seen,
--- with the maximum precision of all.
---
-canonicalStyleFrom :: [AmountStyle] -> AmountStyle
-canonicalStyleFrom [] = amountstyle
-canonicalStyleFrom ss@(s:_) =
-  s{asprecision=prec, asdecimalpoint=Just decmark, asdigitgroups=mgrps}
-  where
-    -- precision is maximum of all precisions
-    prec = maximumStrict $ map asprecision ss
-    -- identify the digit group mark (& group sizes)
-    mgrps = headMay $ mapMaybe asdigitgroups ss
-    -- if a digit group mark was identified above, we can rely on that;
-    -- make sure the decimal mark is different. If not, default to period.
-    defdecmark =
-      case mgrps of
-        Just (DigitGroups '.' _) -> ','
-        _                        -> '.'
-    -- identify the decimal mark: the first one used, or the above default,
-    -- but never the same character as the digit group mark.
-    -- urgh.. refactor..
-    decmark = case mgrps of
-                Just _ -> defdecmark
-                _      -> headDef defdecmark $ mapMaybe asdecimalpoint ss
-
 -- -- | Apply this journal's historical price records to unpriced amounts where possible.
 -- journalApplyPriceDirectives :: Journal -> Journal
 -- journalApplyPriceDirectives j@Journal{jtxns=ts} = j{jtxns=map fixtransaction ts}
@@ -1160,31 +1144,6 @@ journalToCost j@Journal{jtxns=ts} = j{jtxns=map (transactionToCost styles) ts}
 --               Just (UnitPrice ma)  -> c:(concatMap amountCommodities $ amounts ma)
 --               Just (TotalPrice ma) -> c:(concatMap amountCommodities $ amounts ma)
 
--- | Get an ordered list of amounts in this journal which can
--- influence canonical amount display styles. Those amounts are, in
--- the following order:
---
--- * amounts in market price (P) directives (in parse order)
--- * posting amounts in transactions (in parse order)
--- * the amount in the final default commodity (D) directive
---
--- Transaction price amounts (posting amounts' aprice field) are not included.
---
-journalStyleInfluencingAmounts :: Journal -> [Amount]
-journalStyleInfluencingAmounts j = 
-  dbg7 "journalStyleInfluencingAmounts" $
-  catMaybes $ concat [
-   [mdefaultcommodityamt]
-  ,map (Just . pdamount) $ jpricedirectives j
-  ,map Just $ concatMap amounts $ map pamount $ journalPostings j
-  ]
-  where
-    -- D's amount style isn't actually stored as an amount, make it into one
-    mdefaultcommodityamt =
-      case jparsedefaultcommodity j of
-        Just (symbol,style) -> Just nullamt{acommodity=symbol,astyle=style}
-        Nothing -> Nothing
-
 -- overcomplicated/unused amount traversal stuff
 --
 -- | Get an ordered list of 'AmountStyle's from the amounts in this
@@ -1341,7 +1300,7 @@ journalApplyAliases aliases j =
 --     liabilities:debts  $1
 --     assets:bank:checking
 --
-Right samplejournal = journalBalanceTransactions False $
+Right samplejournal = journalBalanceTransactions False False $
          nulljournal
          {jtxns = [
            txnTieKnot $ Transaction {
@@ -1484,7 +1443,7 @@ tests_Journal = tests "Journal" [
   ,tests "journalBalanceTransactions" [
 
      test "balance-assignment" $ do
-      let ej = journalBalanceTransactions True $
+      let ej = journalBalanceTransactions False True $
             --2019/01/01
             --  (a)            = 1
             nulljournal{ jtxns = [
@@ -1495,7 +1454,7 @@ tests_Journal = tests "Journal" [
       (jtxns j & head & tpostings & head & pamount) @?= Mixed [num 1]
 
     ,test "same-day-1" $ do
-      assertRight $ journalBalanceTransactions True $
+      assertRight $ journalBalanceTransactions False True $
             --2019/01/01
             --  (a)            = 1
             --2019/01/01
@@ -1506,7 +1465,7 @@ tests_Journal = tests "Journal" [
             ]}
 
     ,test "same-day-2" $ do
-      assertRight $ journalBalanceTransactions True $
+      assertRight $ journalBalanceTransactions False True $
             --2019/01/01
             --    (a)                  2 = 2
             --2019/01/01
@@ -1524,7 +1483,7 @@ tests_Journal = tests "Journal" [
             ]}
 
     ,test "out-of-order" $ do
-      assertRight $ journalBalanceTransactions True $
+      assertRight $ journalBalanceTransactions False True $
             --2019/1/2
             --  (a)    1 = 2
             --2019/1/1
@@ -1536,39 +1495,4 @@ tests_Journal = tests "Journal" [
 
     ]
 
-    ,tests "commodityStylesFromAmounts" $ [
-
-      -- Journal similar to the one on #1091:
-      -- 2019/09/24
-      --     (a)            1,000.00
-      -- 
-      -- 2019/09/26
-      --     (a)             1000,000
-      --
-      test "1091a" $ do
-        commodityStylesFromAmounts [
-           nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just ',') Nothing}
-          ,nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 2) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3]))}
-          ]
-         @?=
-          -- The commodity style should have period as decimal mark
-          -- and comma as digit group mark.
-          Right (M.fromList [
-            ("", AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3])))
-          ])
-        -- same journal, entries in reverse order
-      ,test "1091b" $ do
-        commodityStylesFromAmounts [
-           nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 2) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3]))}
-          ,nullamt{aquantity=1000, astyle=AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just ',') Nothing}
-          ]
-         @?=
-          -- The commodity style should have period as decimal mark
-          -- and comma as digit group mark.
-          Right (M.fromList [
-            ("", AmountStyle L False (Precision 3) (Just '.') (Just (DigitGroups ',' [3])))
-          ])
-
-     ]
-
   ]
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs
index 222f4e6c748..f13b998b4cf 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE NamedFieldPuns #-}
 {-|
 
 A 'Transaction' represents a movement of some commodity(ies) between two
@@ -82,6 +83,8 @@ import Hledger.Data.Amount
 import Hledger.Data.Valuation
 import Text.Tabular
 import Text.Tabular.AsciiWide
+import Control.Applicative ((<|>))
+import Text.Printf (printf)
 
 sourceFilePath :: GenericSourcePos -> FilePath
 sourceFilePath = \case
@@ -358,15 +361,62 @@ transactionsPostings = concatMap tpostings
 --    (Best effort; could be confused by postings with multicommodity amounts.)
 --
 -- 3. Does the amounts' sum appear non-zero when displayed ?
---    (using the given display styles if provided)
+--    We have two ways of checking this: 
+--
+--    Old way, supported for compatibility: if global display styles are provided,
+--    in each commodity, render the sum using the precision from the 
+--    global display styles, and see if it looks like exactly zero.
+--
+--    New way, preferred: in each commodity, render the sum using the max precision
+--    that was used in this transaction's journal entry, and see if it looks
+--    like exactly zero.
 --
 transactionCheckBalanced :: Maybe (M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle) -> Transaction -> [String]
-transactionCheckBalanced mstyles t = errs
+transactionCheckBalanced mglobalstyles t = errs
   where
     (rps, bvps) = (realPostings t, balancedVirtualPostings t)
 
+    -- For testing each commodity's zero sum, we'll render it with the number
+    -- of decimal places specified by its display style, from either the 
+    -- provided global display styles, or local styles inferred from just 
+    -- this transaction.
+
+    -- Which local styles (& thence, precisions) exactly should we
+    -- infer from this transaction ? Since amounts are going to be
+    -- converted to cost, we may end up with the commodity of
+    -- transaction prices, so we'll need to pick a style for those too.
+    --
+    -- Option 1: also infer styles from the price amounts, which normally isn't done.
+    -- canonicalise = maybe id canonicaliseMixedAmount (mglobalstyles <|> mtxnstyles)
+    --   where
+    --     mtxnstyles = dbg0 "transactionCheckBalanced mtxnstyles" $
+    --       either (const Nothing) Just $ -- shouldn't get any error here, but if so just.. carry on, comparing uncanonicalised amounts XXX
+    --         commodityStylesFromAmounts $ concatMap postingAllAmounts $ rps ++ bvps
+    --           where
+    --             -- | Get all the individual Amounts from a posting's MixedAmount,
+    --             -- and all their price Amounts as well.
+    --             postingAllAmounts :: Posting -> [Amount]
+    --             postingAllAmounts p = catMaybes $ concat [[Just a, priceamount a] | a <- amounts $ pamount p]
+    --               where 
+    --                 priceamount Amount{aprice} = 
+    --                   case aprice of
+    --                     Just (UnitPrice a) -> Just a
+    --                     Just (TotalPrice a) -> Just a
+    --                     Nothing -> Nothing
+    --
+    -- Option 2, for amounts converted to cost, where the new commodity appears only in prices,
+    -- use the precision of their original commodity (by using mixedAmountCostPreservingPrecision).
+    (tocost,costlabel) = case mglobalstyles of
+      Just _  -> (mixedAmountCost,"")  -- --balancing=styled
+      Nothing -> (mixedAmountCostPreservingPrecision,"withorigprecision")  -- --balancing=exact
+    canonicalise = maybe id canonicaliseMixedAmount (mglobalstyles <|> mtxnstyles)
+      where
+        mtxnstyles = dbg9 "transactionCheckBalanced mtxnstyles" $
+          either (const Nothing) Just $ -- shouldn't get an error here, but if so just don't canonicalise
+            commodityStylesFromAmounts $ concatMap (amounts.pamount) $ rps ++ bvps
+
+
     -- check for mixed signs, detecting nonzeros at display precision
-    canonicalise = maybe id canonicaliseMixedAmount mstyles
     signsOk ps = 
       case filter (not.mixedAmountLooksZero) $ map (canonicalise.mixedAmountCost.pamount) ps of
         nonzeros | length nonzeros >= 2
@@ -375,22 +425,28 @@ transactionCheckBalanced mstyles t = errs
     (rsignsok, bvsignsok)       = (signsOk rps, signsOk bvps)
 
     -- check for zero sum, at display precision
-    (rsum, bvsum)               = (sumPostings rps, sumPostings bvps)
-    (rsumcost, bvsumcost)       = (mixedAmountCost rsum, mixedAmountCost bvsum)
-    (rsumdisplay, bvsumdisplay) = (canonicalise rsumcost, canonicalise bvsumcost)
-    (rsumok, bvsumok)           = (mixedAmountLooksZero rsumdisplay, mixedAmountLooksZero bvsumdisplay)
+    (rsum, bvsum)             = (dbg9 "transactionCheckBalanced rsum" $ sumPostings rps, sumPostings bvps)
+    (rsumcost, bvsumcost)     = (dbg9 ("transactionCheckBalanced rsumcost"++costlabel) $ tocost rsum, tocost bvsum)
+    (rsumstyled, bvsumstyled) = (dbg9 "transactionCheckBalanced rsumstyled" $ canonicalise rsumcost, canonicalise bvsumcost)
+    (rsumok, bvsumok)         = (mixedAmountLooksZero rsumstyled, mixedAmountLooksZero bvsumstyled)
 
-    -- generate error messages, showing amounts with their original precision
+    -- generate error messages
     errs = filter (not.null) [rmsg, bvmsg]
       where
         rmsg
           | not rsignsok  = "real postings all have the same sign"
-          | not rsumok    = "real postings' sum should be 0 but is: " ++ showMixedAmount rsumcost
+          | not rsumok    = printf "real postings' sum should be %s but is %s (rounded from %s)" rsumexpected rsumactual rsumfull
           | otherwise     = ""
         bvmsg
           | not bvsignsok = "balanced virtual postings all have the same sign"
-          | not bvsumok   = "balanced virtual postings' sum should be 0 but is: " ++ showMixedAmount bvsumcost
+          | not bvsumok   = printf "balanced virtual postings' sum should be %s but is %s (rounded from %s)" bvsumexpected bvsumactual bvsumfull
           | otherwise     = ""
+        rsumexpected = showMixedAmountWithZeroCommodity $ mapMixedAmount (\a -> a{aquantity=0}) rsumstyled
+        rsumactual = showMixedAmount rsumstyled
+        rsumfull = showMixedAmount (mixedAmountSetFullPrecision rsumcost)
+        bvsumexpected = showMixedAmountWithZeroCommodity $ mapMixedAmount (\a -> a{aquantity=0}) rsumstyled
+        bvsumactual = showMixedAmount bvsumstyled
+        bvsumfull = showMixedAmount (mixedAmountSetFullPrecision bvsumcost)
 
 -- | Legacy form of transactionCheckBalanced.
 isTransactionBalanced :: Maybe (M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle) -> Transaction -> Bool
@@ -454,7 +510,7 @@ inferBalancingAmount ::
      M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle -- ^ commodity display styles
   -> Transaction
   -> Either String (Transaction, [(AccountName, MixedAmount)])
-inferBalancingAmount styles t@Transaction{tpostings=ps}
+inferBalancingAmount _globalstyles t@Transaction{tpostings=ps}
   | length amountlessrealps > 1
       = Left $ transactionBalanceError t
         ["can't have more than one real posting with no amount"
@@ -486,9 +542,7 @@ inferBalancingAmount styles t@Transaction{tpostings=ps}
           Just a  -> (p{pamount=a', poriginal=Just $ originalPosting p}, Just a')
             where
               -- Inferred amounts are converted to cost.
-              -- Also ensure the new amount has the standard style for its commodity
-              -- (since the main amount styling pass happened before this balancing pass);
-              a' = styleMixedAmount styles $ normaliseMixedAmount $ mixedAmountCost (-a)
+              a' = normaliseMixedAmount $ mixedAmountCost (-a)
 
 -- | Infer prices for this transaction's posting amounts, if needed to make
 -- the postings balance, and if possible. This is done once for the real
@@ -554,7 +608,11 @@ priceInferrerFor t pt = inferprice
       where
         fromcommodity = head $ filter (`elem` sumcommodities) pcommodities -- these heads are ugly but should be safe
         conversionprice
+          -- Use a total price when we can, as it's more exact.
           | fromcount==1 = TotalPrice $ abs toamount `withPrecision` NaturalPrecision
+          -- When there are multiple posting amounts to be converted, 
+          -- it's easiest to have them all use the same unit price.
+          -- Floating-point error and rounding becomes an issue though.
           | otherwise    = UnitPrice $ abs unitprice `withPrecision` unitprecision
           where
             fromcount     = length $ filter ((==fromcommodity).acommodity) pamounts
@@ -564,9 +622,20 @@ priceInferrerFor t pt = inferprice
             toamount      = head $ filter ((==tocommodity).acommodity) sumamounts
             toprecision   = asprecision $ astyle toamount
             unitprice     = (aquantity fromamount) `divideAmount` toamount
-            -- Sum two display precisions, capping the result at the maximum bound
+            -- The number of decimal places that will be shown for an
+            -- inferred unit price. Often, the underlying Decimal will
+            -- have the maximum number of decimal places (255). We
+            -- don't want to show that many to the user; we'd prefer
+            -- to show the minimum number of digits that makes the
+            -- print-ed transaction appear balanced if you did the
+            -- arithmetic by hand, and also makes the print-ed transaction
+            -- parseable by hledger. How many decimal places is that ? I'm not sure. 
+            -- Currently we heuristically use 2 * the total number of decimal places 
+            -- from the amounts to be converted to and from (and at least 2, at most 255), 
+            -- which experimentally seems to be sufficient so far.
             unitprecision = case (fromprecision, toprecision) of
-                (Precision a, Precision b) -> Precision $ if maxBound - a < b then maxBound else max 2 (a + b)
+                (Precision a, Precision b) -> Precision $ if maxBound - a < b then maxBound else 
+                  max 2 (2 * (a+b))
                 _                          -> NaturalPrecision
     inferprice p = p
 
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs
index cfe34a7015b..d579c89375c 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ Some of these might belong in Hledger.Read.JournalReader or Hledger.Read.
 module Hledger.Read.Common (
   Reader (..),
   InputOpts (..),
+  BalancingType (..),
   definputopts,
   rawOptsToInputOpts,
 
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ import Text.Megaparsec.Custom
 
 import Hledger.Data
 import Hledger.Utils
-import Safe (headMay)
+import Safe (headMay, lastMay)
 import Text.Printf (printf)
 
 --- ** doctest setup
@@ -204,6 +205,7 @@ data InputOpts = InputOpts {
     ,auto_              :: Bool                 -- ^ generate automatic postings when journal is parsed
     ,commoditystyles_   :: Maybe (M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle) -- ^ optional commodity display styles affecting all files
     ,strict_            :: Bool                 -- ^ do extra error checking (eg, all posted accounts are declared)
+    ,balancingtype_     :: BalancingType        -- ^ which transaction balancing strategy to use
  } deriving (Show)
 
 instance Default InputOpts where def = definputopts
@@ -221,6 +223,7 @@ definputopts = InputOpts
     , auto_              = False
     , commoditystyles_   = Nothing
     , strict_            = False
+    , balancingtype_     = StyledBalancing
     }
 
 rawOptsToInputOpts :: RawOpts -> InputOpts
@@ -237,8 +240,28 @@ rawOptsToInputOpts rawopts = InputOpts{
   ,auto_              = boolopt "auto" rawopts
   ,commoditystyles_   = Nothing
   ,strict_            = boolopt "strict" rawopts
+  ,balancingtype_     = fromMaybe ExactBalancing $ balancingTypeFromRawOpts rawopts
   }
 
+-- | How should transactions be checked for balancedness ?
+-- Ie, to how many decimal places should we check each commodity's zero balance ?
+data BalancingType = 
+    ExactBalancing   -- ^ render the sum with the max precision used in the transaction
+  | StyledBalancing  -- ^ render the sum with the precision from the journal's display styles, eg from commodity directives
+  deriving (Eq,Show)
+
+-- | Parse the transaction balancing strategy, specified by --balancing.
+balancingTypeFromRawOpts :: RawOpts -> Maybe BalancingType
+balancingTypeFromRawOpts rawopts = lastMay $ collectopts balancingfromrawopt rawopts
+  where
+    balancingfromrawopt (name,value)
+      | name == "balancing" = Just $ balancing value
+      | otherwise           = Nothing
+    balancing value
+      | not (null value) && value `isPrefixOf` "exact"  = ExactBalancing
+      | not (null value) && value `isPrefixOf` "styled" = StyledBalancing
+      | otherwise = usageError $ "could not parse \""++value++"\" as balancing type, should be: exact|styled"
+
 --- ** parsing utilities
 
 -- | Run a text parser in the identity monad. See also: parseWithState.
@@ -325,7 +348,7 @@ parseAndFinaliseJournal' parser iopts f txt = do
 -- - infer transaction-implied market prices from transaction prices
 --
 journalFinalise :: InputOpts -> FilePath -> Text -> ParsedJournal -> ExceptT String IO Journal
-journalFinalise InputOpts{auto_,ignore_assertions_,commoditystyles_,strict_} f txt pj = do
+journalFinalise InputOpts{auto_,ignore_assertions_,commoditystyles_,strict_,balancingtype_} f txt pj = do
   t <- liftIO getClockTime
   d <- liftIO getCurrentDay
   let pj' =
@@ -342,35 +365,43 @@ journalFinalise InputOpts{auto_,ignore_assertions_,commoditystyles_,strict_} f t
       -- and using declared commodities
       case if strict_ then journalCheckCommoditiesDeclared pj' else Right () of
         Left e   -> throwError e
-        Right () ->
-
-          -- Infer and apply canonical styles for each commodity (or throw an error).
-          -- This affects transaction balancing/assertions/assignments, so needs to be done early.
-          case journalApplyCommodityStyles pj' of
-            Left e     -> throwError e
-            Right pj'' -> either throwError return $
-              pj''
-              & (if not auto_ || null (jtxnmodifiers pj'')
-                then
-                  -- Auto postings are not active.
-                  -- Balance all transactions and maybe check balance assertions.
-                  journalBalanceTransactions (not ignore_assertions_)
-                else \j -> do  -- Either monad
-                  -- Auto postings are active.
-                  -- Balance all transactions without checking balance assertions,
-                  j' <- journalBalanceTransactions False j
-                  -- then add the auto postings
-                  -- (Note adding auto postings after balancing means #893b fails;
-                  -- adding them before balancing probably means #893a, #928, #938 fail.)
-                  case journalModifyTransactions d j' of
-                    Left e -> throwError e
-                    Right j'' -> do
-                      -- then apply commodity styles once more, to style the auto posting amounts. (XXX inefficient ?)
-                      j''' <- journalApplyCommodityStyles j''
-                      -- then check balance assertions.
-                      journalBalanceTransactions (not ignore_assertions_) j'''
-                )
-            & fmap journalInferMarketPricesFromTransactions  -- infer market prices from commodity-exchanging transactions
+        Right () -> do
+          -- Infer and save canonical commodity display styles here, before transaction balancing.
+          case journalInferCommodityStyles pj' of
+            Left e -> throwError e
+            Right pj'' -> do
+              let 
+                  allstyles = journalCommodityStyles pj''
+                  useglobalstyles = balancingtype_ == StyledBalancing
+              -- Balance transactions, and possibly add auto postings and check balance assertions.
+              case (pj''
+                    & (if not auto_ || null (jtxnmodifiers pj'')
+                      then
+                        -- Auto postings are not active.
+                        -- Balance all transactions and maybe check balance assertions.
+                        journalBalanceTransactions useglobalstyles (not ignore_assertions_)
+                      else \j -> do  -- Either monad
+                        -- Auto postings are active.
+                        -- Balance all transactions without checking balance assertions,
+                        j' <- journalBalanceTransactions useglobalstyles False j
+                        -- then add the auto postings
+                        -- (Note adding auto postings after balancing means #893b fails;
+                        -- adding them before balancing probably means #893a, #928, #938 fail.)
+                        case journalModifyTransactions d j' of
+                          Left e -> throwError e
+                          Right j'' -> do
+                            -- then check balance assertions.
+                            journalBalanceTransactions useglobalstyles (not ignore_assertions_) j''
+                      )) of
+                Left e -> throwError e
+                Right pj''' -> do
+                  let
+                    pj'''' = pj'''
+                      -- Apply the (pre-transaction-balancing) commodity styles to all amounts.
+                      & journalApplyCommodityStyles allstyles
+                      -- Infer market prices from commodity-exchanging transactions.
+                      & journalInferMarketPricesFromTransactions
+                  return pj''''
 
 -- | Check that all the journal's transactions have payees declared with
 -- payee directives, returning an error message otherwise.
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BalanceReport.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BalanceReport.hs
index 78f67881ab1..2a0a1f336f7 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BalanceReport.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BalanceReport.hs
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ balanceReport rspec j = (rows, total)
 -- tests
 
 Right samplejournal2 =
-  journalBalanceTransactions False
+  journalBalanceTransactions False False
     nulljournal{
       jtxns = [
         txnTieKnot Transaction{
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BudgetReport.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BudgetReport.hs
index 1081ab4ee2c..3827c991330 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BudgetReport.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/BudgetReport.hs
@@ -110,7 +110,8 @@ budgetReport rspec assrt reportspan j = dbg4 "sortedbudgetreport" budgetreport
 -- for BudgetReport.
 journalAddBudgetGoalTransactions :: Bool -> ReportOpts -> DateSpan -> Journal -> Journal
 journalAddBudgetGoalTransactions assrt _ropts reportspan j =
-  either error' id $ journalBalanceTransactions assrt j{ jtxns = budgetts }  -- PARTIAL:
+  -- TODO: always using exact balancing, do we need to support styled balancing for BC ?
+  either error' id $ journalBalanceTransactions False assrt j{ jtxns = budgetts }  -- PARTIAL:
   where
     budgetspan = dbg3 "budget span" $ reportspan
     budgetts =
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs
index e4dabca848e..c932b603607 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/CliOptions.hs
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ inputflags = [
  ,flagReq  ["alias"]         (\s opts -> Right $ setopt "alias" s opts)  "OLD=NEW" "rename accounts named OLD to NEW"
  ,flagNone ["anon"]          (setboolopt "anon") "anonymize accounts and payees"
  ,flagReq  ["pivot"]         (\s opts -> Right $ setopt "pivot" s opts)  "TAGNAME" "use some other field/tag for account names"
+ ,flagReq  ["balancing"]     (\s opts -> Right $ setopt "balancing" s opts)  "exact|styled" "balance transactions using transaction's exact precisions (default, recommended) or commodity display styles' precisions (like hledger <=1.20)"
  ,flagNone ["ignore-assertions","I"] (setboolopt "ignore-assertions") "ignore any balance assertions"
  ,flagNone ["strict","s"]    (setboolopt "strict") "do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are declared)"
  ]
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs
index b8bbb2e60b1..3ad8f5db3bb 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ journalAddForecast :: CliOpts -> Journal -> Journal
 journalAddForecast CliOpts{inputopts_=iopts, reportspec_=rspec} j =
     case forecast_ ropts of
         Nothing -> j
-        Just _  -> either (error') id . journalApplyCommodityStyles $  -- PARTIAL:
+        Just _  -> either (error') id . journalInferAndApplyCommodityStyles $  -- PARTIAL:
                      journalBalanceTransactions' iopts j{ jtxns = concat [jtxns j, forecasttxns'] }
   where
     today = rsToday rspec
@@ -151,9 +151,11 @@ journalAddForecast CliOpts{inputopts_=iopts, reportspec_=rspec} j =
       forecasttxns
 
     journalBalanceTransactions' iopts j =
-      let assrt = not . ignore_assertions_ $ iopts
+      let 
+        assrt = not . ignore_assertions_ $ iopts
+        styledbalancing = balancingtype_ iopts == StyledBalancing
       in
-       either error' id $ journalBalanceTransactions assrt j  -- PARTIAL:
+       either error' id $ journalBalanceTransactions styledbalancing assrt j  -- PARTIAL:
 
 -- | Write some output to stdout or to a file selected by --output-file.
 -- If the file exists it will be overwritten.
diff --git a/hledger/hledger.m4.md b/hledger/hledger.m4.md
index 0c89c413d71..7e95123198a 100644
--- a/hledger/hledger.m4.md
+++ b/hledger/hledger.m4.md
@@ -1465,6 +1465,10 @@ Here's a simple journal file containing one transaction:
   income:salary         $-1
 ```
 
+Note a transaction's postings have an important property: their
+amounts are required to add up to zero, showing that money has not
+been created or destroyed, only moved. 
+This is discussed in more detail below.
 
 ## Dates
 
@@ -1725,6 +1729,8 @@ without using a balancing equity account:
   (assets:savings)    $2000
 ```
 
+### Balanced virtual postings
+
 A posting with a bracketed account name is called a *balanced virtual
 posting*. The balanced virtual postings in a transaction must add up
 to zero (separately from other postings). Eg:
@@ -1977,6 +1983,54 @@ hledger will parse these, for compatibility with Ledger journals, but currently
 A [transaction price](#transaction-prices), lot price and/or lot date may appear in any order,
 after the posting amount and before the balance assertion if any.
 
+## Balanced transactions
+
+As mentioned above, the amounts of a transaction's posting are required to add up to zero.
+This shows that "money was conserved" during the transaction, ie no
+funds were created or destroyed.
+We call this a balanced transaction.
+
+If you want the full detail of how exactly this works in hledger, read on...
+
+Transactions can contain [ordinary (real) postings](#postings),
+[balanced virtual postings](#balanced-virtual-postings), and/or
+[unbalanced virtual postings](#virtual-postings).
+hledger checks that the real postings sum to zero, 
+the balanced virtual postings (separately) sum to zero,
+and does not check unbalanced virtual postings.
+
+Because computers generally don't represent decimal (real) numbers
+exactly, "sum to zero" is a little more complicated.
+hledger aims to always agree with a human who is looking at the
+[`print`](#print)-ed transaction and doing the arithmetic by hand.
+Specifically, it does this: 
+
+- for each commodity referenced in the transaction,
+- sum the amounts of that commodity,
+- render that sum with a certain precision (number of decimal places),
+- and check that the rendered number is all zeros.
+
+What is that precision (for each commodity) ?
+Since hledger 1.21, by default it is the maximum precision used
+in the transaction's journal entry (which is also what the `print`
+command shows).
+
+However in hledger 1.20 and before, it was the precision specified by 
+the journal's [declared](#declaring-commodities) or inferred 
+[commodity display styles](#commodity-display-style)
+(because that's what the `print` command showed).
+
+You may have some existing journals which are dependent on this older behaviour.
+Ie, hledger <=1.20 accepts them but hledger >=1.21 reports "unbalanced transaction".
+So we provide the `--balancing=styled` option, which restores the old balanced transaction checking
+(but not the old `print` behaviour, so balanced checking might not always agree with what `print` shows.)
+Note this is just a convenience to ease migration, and may be dropped in future,
+so we recommend that you update your journal entries to satisfy the new balanced checking
+(`--balancing=exact`, which is the default).
+(Advantages of the new way: it agrees with `print` output; 
+it is simpler, depending only on the transaction's journal entry;
+and it is more robust when `print`-ing transactions to be re-parsed by hledger.)
+
 ## Balance assertions
 
 hledger supports
diff --git a/hledger/test/balance/budget.test b/hledger/test/balance/budget.test
index 4d6376ac8a8..9f15fa14675 100644
--- a/hledger/test/balance/budget.test
+++ b/hledger/test/balance/budget.test
@@ -365,49 +365,48 @@ Budget performance in 2018-05-01..2018-06-30, valued at period ends:
 $ hledger -f- bal --budget
 Budget performance in 2019-01-01..2019-01-03:
 
-                   ||    2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
-===================++===========================
- expenses:personal ||  $50.00 [5% of $1,000.00] 
- liabilities       || $-50.00 [5% of $-1000.00] 
--------------------++---------------------------
-                   ||       0 [              0] 
+                   ||     2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
+===================++============================
+ expenses:personal ||  $50.00 [5% of  $1,000.00] 
+ liabilities       || $-50.00 [5% of $-1,000.00] 
+-------------------++----------------------------
+                   ||       0 [               0] 
 
 # 17.
 $ hledger -f- bal --budget -E
 Budget performance in 2019-01-01..2019-01-03:
 
-                                        ||    2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
-========================================++===========================
- expenses:personal                      ||  $50.00 [5% of $1,000.00] 
- expenses:personal:electronics          ||  $20.00                   
- expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades ||  $10.00                   
- liabilities                            || $-50.00 [5% of $-1000.00] 
-----------------------------------------++---------------------------
-                                        ||       0 [              0] 
+                                        ||     2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
+========================================++============================
+ expenses:personal                      ||  $50.00 [5% of  $1,000.00] 
+ expenses:personal:electronics          ||  $20.00                    
+ expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades ||  $10.00                    
+ liabilities                            || $-50.00 [5% of $-1,000.00] 
+----------------------------------------++----------------------------
+                                        ||       0 [               0] 
 
 # 18.
 $ hledger -f- bal --budget --tree
 Budget performance in 2019-01-01..2019-01-03:
 
-                   ||    2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
-===================++===========================
- expenses:personal ||  $50.00 [5% of $1,000.00] 
- liabilities       || $-50.00 [5% of $-1000.00] 
--------------------++---------------------------
-                   ||       0 [              0] 
-
+                   ||     2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
+===================++============================
+ expenses:personal ||  $50.00 [5% of  $1,000.00] 
+ liabilities       || $-50.00 [5% of $-1,000.00] 
+-------------------++----------------------------
+                   ||       0 [               0] 
 # 19.
 $ hledger -f- bal --budget --tree -E
 Budget performance in 2019-01-01..2019-01-03:
 
-                   ||    2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
-===================++===========================
- expenses:personal ||  $50.00 [5% of $1,000.00] 
-   electronics     ||  $20.00                   
-     upgrades      ||  $10.00                   
- liabilities       || $-50.00 [5% of $-1000.00] 
--------------------++---------------------------
-                   ||       0 [              0] 
+                   ||     2019-01-01..2019-01-03 
+===================++============================
+ expenses:personal ||  $50.00 [5% of  $1,000.00] 
+   electronics     ||  $20.00                    
+     upgrades      ||  $10.00                    
+ liabilities       || $-50.00 [5% of $-1,000.00] 
+-------------------++----------------------------
+                   ||       0 [               0] 
 
 # 20. Subaccounts + nested budgets
 <
diff --git a/hledger/test/close.test b/hledger/test/close.test
index 9d86d4beeed..d5dc61c4ec2 100644
--- a/hledger/test/close.test
+++ b/hledger/test/close.test
@@ -271,20 +271,20 @@ commodity AAA 0.00000000
 
 $ hledger -f- close -p 2019 assets --show-costs -x
 2019-12-31 closing balances
-    assets:aaa                                       AAA -510.00000000 = AAA 0.00000000
-    assets:usd                                                 $-49.50
-    assets:usd                          $49.390001 @ AAA 10.3528242505 = $0.00
-    equity:opening/closing balances                             $49.50
-    equity:opening/closing balances    $-49.390001 @ AAA 10.3528242505
-    equity:opening/closing balances                   AAA 510.00000000
+    assets:aaa                                           AAA -510.00000000 = AAA 0.00000000
+    assets:usd                                                     $-49.50
+    assets:usd                          $49.390001 @ AAA 10.35282425045552 = $0.00
+    equity:opening/closing balances                                 $49.50
+    equity:opening/closing balances    $-49.390001 @ AAA 10.35282425045552
+    equity:opening/closing balances                       AAA 510.00000000
 
 2020-01-01 opening balances
-    assets:aaa                                        AAA 510.00000000 = AAA 510.00000000
-    assets:usd                                                  $49.50
-    assets:usd                         $-49.390001 @ AAA 10.3528242505 = $0.109999
-    equity:opening/closing balances                            $-49.50
-    equity:opening/closing balances     $49.390001 @ AAA 10.3528242505
-    equity:opening/closing balances                  AAA -510.00000000
+    assets:aaa                                            AAA 510.00000000 = AAA 510.00000000
+    assets:usd                                                      $49.50
+    assets:usd                         $-49.390001 @ AAA 10.35282425045552 = $0.109999
+    equity:opening/closing balances                                $-49.50
+    equity:opening/closing balances     $49.390001 @ AAA 10.35282425045552
+    equity:opening/closing balances                      AAA -510.00000000
 
 >=0
 
diff --git a/hledger/test/journal/precision.test b/hledger/test/journal/precision.test
index 18ced3ac315..ef70c06c46f 100644
--- a/hledger/test/journal/precision.test
+++ b/hledger/test/journal/precision.test
@@ -123,9 +123,9 @@ hledger -f- print --explicit
     d  D -320.00
 >>>
 2015-01-01
-    c    C 10.00 @ D 15.2381
-    c    C 11.00 @ D 15.2381
-    d              D -320.00
+    c    C 10.00 @ D 15.23809524
+    c    C 11.00 @ D 15.23809524
+    d                  D -320.00
 
 >>>=0
 
@@ -140,8 +140,8 @@ hledger -f- print --explicit
     f  F -320.000
 >>>
 2015-01-01
-    e    E 10.0000 @ F 15.2380952
-    e    E 11.0000 @ F 15.2380952
-    f                  F -320.000
+    e    E 10.0000 @ F 15.23809523809524
+    e    E 11.0000 @ F 15.23809523809524
+    f                         F -320.000
 
 >>>=0
diff --git a/hledger/test/journal/transaction-balancing.test b/hledger/test/journal/transaction-balancing.test
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1b1f2ba3fbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hledger/test/journal/transaction-balancing.test
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# Test cases for balanced-transaction checking, cf #1479
+
+<
+commodity $0.00
+
+2021-01-01 move a lot elsewhere, adjusting cost basis due to fees
+    assets:investments1            A -11.0 @ B 0.093735
+    expenses:fees                  A   0.6
+    equity:basis adjustment        A  -0.6
+    assets:investments2            A  10.4 @ B 0.099143
+
+# 1, 2. succeeds with old "styled" and new "exact" balanced checking
+$ hledger -f- check --balancing=styled
+$ hledger -f- check
+
+<
+commodity $0.00
+
+2021-01-01
+    a    A -11.0 @ B 0.093735
+    b     A 10.4 @ B 0.099143
+
+# 3, 4. succeeds with old and new balanced checking
+$ hledger -f- check --balancing=styled
+$ hledger -f- check
+
+<
+commodity B0.00
+
+2021-01-01
+    a      A -9514.405544 @ B 0.104314
+    b       A 9513.805544 @ B 0.1043206
+
+# 5, 6. succeeds and fails with old and new balanced checking
+$ hledger -f- check --balancing=styled
+$ hledger -f- check
+>2 //
+>= 1
+
+# <
+# 2021-01-01
+#    a  1C @ $1.0049
+#    b  $-1.000
diff --git a/hledger/test/journal/transaction-prices.test b/hledger/test/journal/transaction-prices.test
index eff5c3be4ba..6b90e5c7e15 100644
--- a/hledger/test/journal/transaction-prices.test
+++ b/hledger/test/journal/transaction-prices.test
@@ -51,12 +51,12 @@ hledger -f - print --explicit
     misc                             $-2.1
 >>>
 2011-01-01
-    expenses:foreign currency    €100 @ $1.35
-    misc                                $2.10
-    assets                           $-135.00
-    misc                           €1 @ $1.35
-    misc                          €-1 @ $1.35
-    misc                               $-2.10
+    expenses:foreign currency    €100 @ $1.3500
+    misc                                  $2.10
+    assets                             $-135.00
+    misc                           €1 @ $1.3500
+    misc                          €-1 @ $1.3500
+    misc                                 $-2.10
 
 >>>=0