diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs
index 588c8bd52..298ad5884 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Journal.hs
@@ -999,10 +999,10 @@ journalToCost cost j@Journal{jtxns=ts} = j{jtxns=map (transactionToCost cost) ts
 -- This is always called before transaction balancing to tag the redundant-cost postings so they can be ignored.
 -- With --infer-costs, it is called again after transaction balancing (when it has more information to work with) to infer costs from equity postings.
 -- See transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts for more details, and hledger manual > Cost reporting for more background.
-journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts :: Bool -> Journal -> Either String Journal
-journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts addcosts j = do
+journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts :: Bool -> Bool -> Journal -> Either String Journal
+journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts verbosetags addcosts j = do
   let conversionaccts = journalConversionAccounts j
-  ts <- mapM (transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts addcosts conversionaccts) $ jtxns j
+  ts <- mapM (transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts verbosetags addcosts conversionaccts) $ jtxns j
   return j{jtxns=ts}
 
 -- | Add equity postings inferred from costs, where needed and possible.
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/JournalChecks.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/JournalChecks.hs
index 145b3dc82..379f6df8d 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/JournalChecks.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/JournalChecks.hs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ import Hledger.Data.Errors
 import Hledger.Data.Journal
 import Hledger.Data.JournalChecks.Ordereddates
 import Hledger.Data.JournalChecks.Uniqueleafnames
-import Hledger.Data.Posting (isVirtual, postingDate, transactionAllTags, conversionPostingTagName, costPostingTagName, postingAsLines)
+import Hledger.Data.Posting (isVirtual, postingDate, transactionAllTags, conversionPostingTagName, costPostingTagName, postingAsLines, generatedPostingTagName, generatedTransactionTagName, modifiedTransactionTagName)
 import Hledger.Data.Types
 import Hledger.Data.Amount (amountIsZero, amountsRaw, missingamt, oneLineFmt, showMixedAmountWith)
 import Hledger.Data.Transaction (transactionPayee, showTransactionLineFirstPart, partitionAndCheckConversionPostings)
@@ -233,16 +233,17 @@ builtinTags = [
   ,"assert"                 -- appears on txns generated by close --assert
   ,"retain"                 -- appears on txns generated by close --retain
   ,"start"                  -- appears on txns generated by close --migrate/--close/--open/--assign
-  ,"generated-transaction"  -- with --verbose-tags, appears on generated periodic txns
-  ,"generated-posting"      -- with --verbose-tags, appears on generated auto postings
-  ,"modified"               -- with --verbose-tags, appears on txns which have had auto postings added
-  -- hidden tags used internally (and also queryable):
-  ,"_generated-transaction" -- always exists on generated periodic txns
-  ,"_generated-posting"     -- always exists on generated auto postings
-  ,"_modified"              -- always exists on txns which have had auto postings added
-  ,conversionPostingTagName -- marks costful postings which have been matched with a nearby pair of equity conversion postings
-  ,costPostingTagName       -- marks equity conversion postings which have been matched with a nearby costful posting
   ]
+  -- these tags are used in both hidden and visible form
+  <> ts <> map toVisibleTagName ts
+  where
+    ts = [
+       generatedTransactionTagName -- marks txns generated by periodic rule
+      ,modifiedTransactionTagName  -- marks txns which have had auto postings added
+      ,generatedPostingTagName     -- marks postings which have been generated
+      ,costPostingTagName          -- marks equity conversion postings which have been matched with a nearby costful posting
+      ,conversionPostingTagName    -- marks costful postings which have been matched with a nearby pair of equity conversion postings
+      ]
 
 -- | In each tranaction, check that any conversion postings occur in adjacent pairs.
 journalCheckPairedConversionPostings :: Journal -> Either String ()
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/PeriodicTransaction.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/PeriodicTransaction.hs
index 3a636f45e..d73e8a7d7 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/PeriodicTransaction.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/PeriodicTransaction.hs
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import Text.Printf
 import Hledger.Data.Types
 import Hledger.Data.Dates
 import Hledger.Data.Amount
-import Hledger.Data.Posting (post, commentAddTagNextLine)
+import Hledger.Data.Posting (post, generatedTransactionTagName)
 import Hledger.Data.Transaction
 
 -- $setup
@@ -205,13 +205,11 @@ runPeriodicTransaction verbosetags PeriodicTransaction{..} requestedspan =
           ,tstatus      = ptstatus
           ,tcode        = ptcode
           ,tdescription = ptdescription
-          ,tcomment     = ptcomment &
-            (if verbosetags then (`commentAddTagNextLine` ("generated-transaction",period)) else id)
-          ,ttags        = pttags &
-            (("_generated-transaction",period) :) &
-            (if verbosetags then (("generated-transaction" ,period) :) else id)
+          ,tcomment     = ptcomment
+          ,ttags        = pttags
           ,tpostings    = ptpostings
           }
+        & transactionAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (generatedTransactionTagName, period)
     period = "~ " <> ptperiodexpr
     -- All the date spans described by this periodic transaction rule.
     alltxnspans = splitSpan adjust ptinterval span'
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs
index de4d0d79e..8968cc8be 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ module Hledger.Data.Posting (
   postingApplyCommodityStyles,
   postingStyleAmounts,
   postingAddTags,
+  postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag,
   -- * date operations
   postingDate,
   postingDate2,
@@ -54,8 +55,11 @@ module Hledger.Data.Posting (
   commentAddTag,
   commentAddTagUnspaced,
   commentAddTagNextLine,
-  conversionPostingTagName,
+  generatedTransactionTagName,
+  modifiedTransactionTagName,
+  generatedPostingTagName,
   costPostingTagName,
+  conversionPostingTagName,
 
   -- * arithmetic
   sumPostings,
@@ -96,7 +100,6 @@ import qualified Data.Text.Lazy.Builder as TB
 import Data.Time.Calendar (Day)
 import Safe (maximumBound)
 import Text.DocLayout (realLength)
-
 import Text.Tabular.AsciiWide hiding (render)
 
 import Hledger.Utils
@@ -107,22 +110,16 @@ import Hledger.Data.Dates (nulldate, spanContainsDate)
 import Hledger.Data.Valuation
 
 
--- | These are hidden tags used internally to mark:
--- (1) "matched conversion postings", which are to an account of Conversion type and have a nearby equivalent costful or potentially costful posting, and
--- (2) "matched cost postings", which have or could have a cost that's equivalent to nearby conversion postings.
---
--- One or both of these tags are added during journal finalising:
--- (1) before transaction balancing, to allow ignoring redundant costs
--- (2) when inferring costs from equity conversion postings, and
--- (3) when inferring equity conversion postings from costs.
---
--- These are hidden tags, mainly for internal use, and not visible in output. (XXX visibility would be useful for troubleshooting)
--- But they are mentioned in docs and can be matched by user queries, which can be useful occasionally;
--- so consider user impact before changing these names.
---
-conversionPostingTagName, costPostingTagName :: TagName
-conversionPostingTagName = "_conversion-matched"
-costPostingTagName       = "_cost-matched"
+-- | Special tags hledger sometimes adds to mark various things.
+-- These should be hidden tag names, beginning with _.
+-- With --verbose-tags, the equivalent visible tags will also be added.
+-- These tag names are mentioned in docs and can be matched by user queries, so consider the impact before changing them.
+generatedTransactionTagName, modifiedTransactionTagName, costPostingTagName, conversionPostingTagName, generatedPostingTagName :: TagName
+generatedTransactionTagName = "_generated-transaction"  -- ^ transactions generated by a periodic txn rule
+modifiedTransactionTagName  = "_modified-transaction"   -- ^ transactions modified by an auto posting rule
+generatedPostingTagName     = "_generated-posting"      -- ^ postings generated by hledger for one reason or another
+costPostingTagName          = "_cost-posting"           -- ^ postings which have or could have a cost that's equivalent to nearby conversion postings
+conversionPostingTagName    = "_conversion-posting"     -- ^ postings to an equity account of Conversion type which have an amount that's equivalent to a nearby costful or potentially costful posting
 
 instance HasAmounts BalanceAssertion where
   styleAmounts styles ba@BalanceAssertion{baamount} = ba{baamount=styleAmounts styles baamount}
@@ -463,9 +460,21 @@ postingApplyAliases aliases p@Posting{paccount} =
           ++ "\n to account name: "++T.unpack paccount++"\n "++e
 
 -- | Add tags to a posting, discarding any for which the posting already has a value.
+-- Note this does not add tags to the posting's comment.
 postingAddTags :: Posting -> [Tag] -> Posting
 postingAddTags p@Posting{ptags} tags = p{ptags=ptags `union` tags}
 
+-- | Add the given hidden tag to a posting; and with a true argument,
+-- also add the equivalent visible tag to the posting's tags and comment fields.
+-- If the posting already has these tags (with any value), do nothing.
+postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag :: Bool -> HiddenTag -> Posting -> Posting
+postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags ht p@Posting{pcomment=c, ptags} =
+  (p `postingAddTags` ([ht] <> [vt|verbosetags]))
+  {pcomment=if verbosetags && not hadtag then c `commentAddTag` vt else c}
+  where
+    vt@(vname,_) = toVisibleTag ht
+    hadtag = any ((== (T.toLower vname)) . T.toLower . fst) ptags  -- XXX should regex-quote vname
+
 -- | Apply a specified valuation to this posting's amount, using the
 -- provided price oracle, commodity styles, and reference dates.
 -- See amountApplyValuation.
@@ -492,30 +501,27 @@ postingAddInferredEquityPostings verbosetags equityAcct p
   -- this posting is already tagged as having associated conversion postings
   | costPostingTagName `elem` map fst (ptags p) = [p]
   -- tag the posting, and for each of its costs, add an equivalent pair of conversion postings after it
-  | otherwise = p `postingAddTags` [(costPostingTagName,"")] : concatMap makeConversionPostings costs
+  | otherwise =
+    postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (costPostingTagName,"") p :
+    concatMap makeConversionPostings costs
   where
     costs = filter (isJust . acost) . amountsRaw $ pamount p
     makeConversionPostings amt = case acost amt of
       Nothing -> []
-      Just _  -> [ cp{ paccount = accountPrefix <> amtCommodity
-                      , pamount = mixedAmount . negate $ amountStripCost amt
-                      }
-                  , cp{ paccount = accountPrefix <> costCommodity
-                      , pamount = mixedAmount cost
-                      }
-                  ]
+      Just _  -> [ convp{ paccount = accountPrefix <> amtCommodity
+                        , pamount = mixedAmount . negate $ amountStripCost amt
+                        }
+                 , convp{ paccount = accountPrefix <> costCommodity
+                        , pamount = mixedAmount cost
+                        }
+                 ]
       where
         cost = amountCost amt
         amtCommodity  = commodity amt
         costCommodity = commodity cost
-        cp = p{ pcomment = pcomment p & (if verbosetags then (`commentAddTag` ("generated-posting","conversion")) else id)
-              , ptags    =
-                   (conversionPostingTagName,"") :
-                   ("_generated-posting","conversion") :
-                   (if verbosetags then [("generated-posting", "conversion")] else [])
-              , pbalanceassertion = Nothing
-              , poriginal = Nothing
-              }
+        convp = p{pbalanceassertion=Nothing, poriginal=Nothing}
+          & postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (conversionPostingTagName,"")
+          & postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (generatedPostingTagName, "")
         accountPrefix = mconcat [ equityAcct, ":", T.intercalate "-" $ sort [amtCommodity, costCommodity], ":"]
         -- Take the commodity of an amount and collapse consecutive spaces to a single space
         commodity = T.unwords . filter (not . T.null) . T.words . acommodity
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs
index 5d73fb103..67492600e 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Transaction.hs
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ module Hledger.Data.Transaction
 , transactionMapPostingAmounts
 , transactionAmounts
 , partitionAndCheckConversionPostings
+, transactionAddTags
+, transactionAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag
   -- * helpers
 , payeeAndNoteFromDescription
 , payeeAndNoteFromDescription'
@@ -76,6 +78,8 @@ import Hledger.Data.Amount
 import Hledger.Data.Valuation
 import Data.Decimal (normalizeDecimal, decimalPlaces)
 import Data.Functor ((<&>))
+import Data.Function ((&))
+import Data.List (union)
 
 
 instance HasAmounts Transaction where
@@ -249,6 +253,22 @@ type IdxPosting = (Int, Posting)
 
 label s = ((s <> ": ")++)
 
+-- | Add tags to a transaction, discarding any for which it already has a value.
+-- Note this does not add tags to the transaction's comment.
+transactionAddTags :: Transaction -> [Tag] -> Transaction
+transactionAddTags t@Transaction{ttags} tags = t{ttags=ttags `union` tags}
+
+-- | Add the given hidden tag to a transaction; and with a true argument,
+-- also add the equivalent visible tag to the transaction's tags and comment fields.
+-- If the transaction already has these tags (with any value), do nothing.
+transactionAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag :: Bool -> HiddenTag -> Transaction -> Transaction
+transactionAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags ht t@Transaction{tcomment=c, ttags} =
+  (t `transactionAddTags` ([ht] <> [vt|verbosetags]))
+  {tcomment=if verbosetags && not hadtag then c `commentAddTagNextLine` vt else c}
+  where
+    vt@(vname,_) = toVisibleTag ht
+    hadtag = any ((== (T.toLower vname)) . T.toLower . fst) ttags  -- XXX should regex-quote vname
+
 -- | Find, associate, and tag the corresponding equity conversion postings and costful or potentially costful postings in this transaction.
 -- With a true addcosts argument, also generate and add any equivalent costs that are missing.
 -- The (previously detected) names of all equity conversion accounts should be provided.
@@ -260,8 +280,8 @@ label s = ((s <> ": ")++)
 --
 -- The name reflects the complexity of this and its helpers; clarification is ongoing.
 --
-transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts :: Bool -> [AccountName] -> Transaction -> Either String Transaction
-transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts addcosts conversionaccts t = first (annotateErrorWithTransaction t . T.unpack) $ do
+transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts :: Bool -> Bool -> [AccountName] -> Transaction -> Either String Transaction
+transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts verbosetags1 addcosts conversionaccts t = first (annotateErrorWithTransaction t . T.unpack) $ do
   -- number the postings
   let npostings = zip [0..] $ tpostings t
 
@@ -273,7 +293,7 @@ transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts addcosts conversionaccts t = firs
   -- 1. each pair of conversion postings, and the corresponding postings which balance them, are tagged for easy identification
   -- 2. each pair of balancing postings which did't have an explicit cost, have had a cost calculated and added to one of them
   -- 3. if any ambiguous situation was detected, an informative error is raised
-  processposting <- transformIndexedPostingsF (tagAndMaybeAddCostsForEquityPostings addcosts) conversionPairs otherps
+  processposting <- transformIndexedPostingsF (tagAndMaybeAddCostsForEquityPostings verbosetags1 addcosts) conversionPairs otherps
 
   -- And if there was no error, use it to modify the transaction's postings.
   return t{tpostings = map (snd . processposting) npostings}
@@ -306,8 +326,8 @@ transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts addcosts conversionaccts t = firs
     -- 3. if in add costs mode, and the potential equivalent-cost posting does not have that explicit cost, add it
     -- 4. or if there is a problem, raise an informative error or do nothing, as appropriate.
     -- Or if there are no costful postings at all, do nothing.
-    tagAndMaybeAddCostsForEquityPostings :: Bool -> (IdxPosting, IdxPosting) -> StateT ([IdxPosting], [IdxPosting]) (Either Text) (IdxPosting -> IdxPosting)
-    tagAndMaybeAddCostsForEquityPostings addcosts' ((n1, cp1), (n2, cp2)) = StateT $ \(costps, otherps) -> do
+    tagAndMaybeAddCostsForEquityPostings :: Bool -> Bool -> (IdxPosting, IdxPosting) -> StateT ([IdxPosting], [IdxPosting]) (Either Text) (IdxPosting -> IdxPosting)
+    tagAndMaybeAddCostsForEquityPostings verbosetags addcosts' ((n1, cp1), (n2, cp2)) = StateT $ \(costps, otherps) -> do
       -- Get the two conversion posting amounts, if possible
       ca1 <- conversionPostingAmountNoCost cp1
       ca2 <- conversionPostingAmountNoCost cp2
@@ -328,8 +348,8 @@ transactionTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts addcosts conversionaccts t = firs
 
         -- A function that adds a cost and/or tag to a numbered posting if appropriate.
         postingAddCostAndOrTag np costp (n,p) =
-          (n, if | n == np            -> costp `postingAddTags` [(costPostingTagName,"")]        -- add this tag to the posting with a cost
-                 | n == n1 || n == n2 -> p     `postingAddTags` [(conversionPostingTagName,"")]  -- add this tag to the two equity conversion postings
+          (n, if | n == np            -> costp & postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (costPostingTagName,"")        -- if it's the specified posting number, replace it with the costful posting, and tag it
+                 | n == n1 || n == n2 -> p     & postingAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (conversionPostingTagName,"")  -- if it's one of the equity conversion postings, tag it
                  | otherwise          -> p)
 
       -- Annotate any errors with the conversion posting pair
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/TransactionModifier.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/TransactionModifier.hs
index ac2bd2d7f..97b72d7c8 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/TransactionModifier.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/TransactionModifier.hs
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ import Safe (headDef)
 import Hledger.Data.Types
 import Hledger.Data.Amount
 import Hledger.Data.Dates
-import Hledger.Data.Transaction (txnTieKnot)
+import Hledger.Data.Transaction (txnTieKnot, transactionAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag)
 import Hledger.Query (Query, filterQuery, matchesAmount, matchesPostingExtra,
                       parseQuery, queryIsAmt, queryIsSym, simplifyQuery)
-import Hledger.Data.Posting (commentJoin, commentAddTag, postingAddTags)
+import Hledger.Data.Posting (commentJoin, commentAddTag, postingAddTags, modifiedTransactionTagName)
 import Hledger.Utils (dbg6, wrap)
 
 -- $setup
@@ -47,14 +47,10 @@ modifyTransactions :: (AccountName -> Maybe AccountType)
 modifyTransactions atypes atags styles d verbosetags tmods ts = do
   fs <- mapM (transactionModifierToFunction atypes atags styles d verbosetags) tmods  -- convert modifiers to functions, or return a parse error
   let
-    modifytxn t = t''
+    modifytxn t =
+      t' & if t'/=t then transactionAddHiddenAndMaybeVisibleTag verbosetags (modifiedTransactionTagName,"") else id
       where
         t' = foldr (flip (.)) id fs t  -- apply each function in turn
-        t'' = if t' == t
-              then t'
-              else t'{tcomment=tcomment t' & (if verbosetags then (`commentAddTag` ("modified","")) else id)
-                     ,ttags=ttags t' & (("_modified","") :) & (if verbosetags then (("modified","") :) else id)
-                     }
 
   Right $ map modifytxn ts
 
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs
index 0b2c5a4dc..bbaa0ee37 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ module Hledger.Data.Types (
 where
 
 import GHC.Generics (Generic)
+import Data.Bifunctor (first)
 import Data.Decimal (Decimal, DecimalRaw(..))
 import Data.Default (Default(..))
 import Data.Functor (($>))
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@ import Data.List (intercalate)
 import qualified Data.Map as M
 import Data.Ord (comparing)
 import Data.Text (Text)
+import qualified Data.Text as T
 import Data.Time.Calendar (Day)
 import Data.Time.Clock.POSIX (POSIXTime)
 import Data.Time.LocalTime (LocalTime)
@@ -390,8 +392,25 @@ data PostingType = RegularPosting | VirtualPosting | BalancedVirtualPosting
 type TagName = Text
 type TagValue = Text
 type Tag = (TagName, TagValue)  -- ^ A tag name and (possibly empty) value.
+type HiddenTag = Tag            -- ^ A tag whose name begins with _.
 type DateTag = (TagName, Day)
 
+-- | Add the _ prefix to a normal visible tag's name, making it a hidden tag.
+toHiddenTag :: Tag -> HiddenTag
+toHiddenTag = first toHiddenTagName
+
+-- | Drop the _ prefix from a hidden tag's name, making it a normal visible tag.
+toVisibleTag :: HiddenTag -> Tag
+toVisibleTag = first toVisibleTagName
+
+-- | Add the _ prefix to a normal visible tag's name, making it a hidden tag.
+toHiddenTagName :: TagName -> TagName
+toHiddenTagName = T.cons '_'
+
+-- | Drop the _ prefix from a hidden tag's name, making it a normal visible tag.
+toVisibleTagName :: TagName -> TagName
+toVisibleTagName = T.drop 1
+
 -- | The status of a transaction or posting, recorded with a status mark
 -- (nothing, !, or *). What these mean is ultimately user defined.
 data Status = Unmarked | Pending | Cleared
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs
index 4e2e3770c..940694c07 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/Common.hs
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ journalFinalise iopts@InputOpts{auto_,balancingopts_,infer_costs_,infer_equity_,
       &   journalStyleAmounts                            -- Infer and apply commodity styles (but don't round) - should be done early
       <&> journalAddForecast verbose_tags_ (forecastPeriod iopts pj)   -- Add forecast transactions if enabled
       <&> journalPostingsAddAccountTags                  -- Add account tags to postings, so they can be matched by auto postings.
-      >>= journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts False   -- Tag equity conversion postings and redundant costs, to help journalBalanceTransactions ignore them.
+      >>= journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts verbose_tags_ False   -- Tag equity conversion postings and redundant costs, to help journalBalanceTransactions ignore them.
       >>= (if auto_ && not (null $ jtxnmodifiers pj)
             then journalAddAutoPostings verbose_tags_ _ioDay balancingopts_  -- Add auto postings if enabled, and account tags if needed. Does preliminary transaction balancing.
             else pure)
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ journalFinalise iopts@InputOpts{auto_,balancingopts_,infer_costs_,infer_equity_,
       -- <&> dbg9With (("journalFinalise amounts after styling, forecasting, auto postings, transaction balancing"<>).showJournalAmountsDebug)
       >>= journalInferCommodityStyles                    -- infer commodity styles once more now that all posting amounts are present
       -- >>= Right . dbg0With (pshow.journalCommodityStyles)
-      >>= (if infer_costs_  then journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts True else pure)  -- With --infer-costs, infer costs from equity postings where possible
+      >>= (if infer_costs_  then journalTagCostsAndEquityAndMaybeInferCosts verbose_tags_ True else pure)  -- With --infer-costs, infer costs from equity postings where possible
       <&> (if infer_equity_ then journalInferEquityFromCosts verbose_tags_ else id)          -- With --infer-equity, infer equity postings from costs where possible
       <&> dbg9With (lbl "amounts after equity-inferring".showJournalAmountsDebug)
       <&> journalInferMarketPricesFromTransactions       -- infer market prices from commodity-exchanging transactions
diff --git a/hledger/hledger.m4.md b/hledger/hledger.m4.md
index b62e9ffcd..7a84bb076 100644
--- a/hledger/hledger.m4.md
+++ b/hledger/hledger.m4.md
@@ -1883,37 +1883,24 @@ Tags you can set to influence hledger's behaviour:
  type                   -- declares an account's type
 ```
 
-Tags hledger adds to indicate generated data:
+Tags hledger adds to indicate generated data (either always, or when `--verbose-tags` is used):
 ```
  t                      -- appears on postings generated by timedot letters
  assert                 -- appears on txns generated by close --assert
  retain                 -- appears on txns generated by close --retain
  start                  -- appears on txns generated by close --migrate/--close/--open/--assign
- generated-transaction  -- appears on generated periodic txns (with --verbose-tags)
- generated-posting      -- appears on generated auto postings (with --verbose-tags)
- modified               -- appears on txns which have had auto postings added (with --verbose-tags)
-```
-
-These similar tags are also provided; they are not displayed, but can be relied on for querying:
-```
- _generated-transaction -- exists on generated periodic txns (always)
- _generated-posting     -- exists on generated auto postings (always)
- _modified              -- exists on txns which have had auto postings added (always)
-```
-
-The following non-displayed tags are used internally by hledger,
-(1) to ignore redundant costs when balancing transactions,
-(2) when using --infer-costs, and
-(3) when using --infer-equity.
-Essentially they mark postings with costs which have corresponding equity conversion postings, and vice-versa.
-They are queryable, but you should not rely on them for your reports:
-```
- _conversion-matched    -- marks "matched conversion postings", which are to a V/Conversion account
-                           and have a nearby equivalent costful or potentially costful posting
- _cost-matched          -- marks "matched cost postings", which have or could have a cost
+ generated-transaction  -- appears on txns generated by a periodic rule
+ modified-transaction   -- appears on txns which have had auto postings added
+ generated-posting      -- appears on generated postings
+ cost-posting           -- marks postings which have a cost, or could have a cost,
                            that's equivalent to nearby conversion postings
+ conversion-posting     -- marks postings which are to a V/Conversion account
+                           and whose amount is equivalent to a nearby cost posting
 ```
 
+The `*-transaction` and `*-posting` tags above are also added as hidden tags (with a `_` prefix).
+Hidden tags are not displayed, but can be relied on for querying.
+
 ### Tag values
 
 Tags can have a value, which is any text after the colon up until a comma or end of line, with surrounding whitespace removed.
diff --git a/hledger/test/check-tags.test b/hledger/test/check-tags.test
index 240f4389f..e019bd38a 100644
--- a/hledger/test/check-tags.test
+++ b/hledger/test/check-tags.test
@@ -52,13 +52,15 @@ $ hledger -f - check tags
   ; retain:
   ; start:
   ; generated-transaction:
+  ; modified-transaction:
   ; generated-posting:
-  ; modified:
+  ; cost-posting:
+  ; conversion-posting:
   ; _generated-transaction:
+  ; _modified-transaction:
   ; _generated-posting:
-  ; _modified:
-  ; _conversion-matched:
-  ; _cost-matched:
+  ; _cost-posting:
+  ; _conversion-posting:
 $ hledger -f - check tags
 
 # ** 7. Declaring the built-in special tags is harmless.
@@ -72,11 +74,13 @@ tag assert                  ; appears on txns generated by close --assert
 tag retain                  ; appears on txns generated by close --retain
 tag start                   ; appears on txns generated by close --migrate/--close/--open/--assign
 tag generated-transaction   ; with --verbose-tags, appears on generated periodic txns
+tag modified-transaction    ; with --verbose-tags, appears on txns which have had auto postings added
 tag generated-posting       ; with --verbose-tags, appears on generated auto postings
-tag modified                ; with --verbose-tags, appears on txns which have had auto postings added
+tag cost-posting            ; with --verbose-tags, appears on cost postings
+tag conversion-posting      ; with --verbose-tags, appears on conversion postings
 tag _generated-transaction  ; always exists on generated periodic txns
+tag _modified-transaction   ; always exists on txns which have had auto postings added
 tag _generated-posting      ; always exists on generated auto postings
-tag _modified               ; always exists on txns which have had auto postings added
-tag _conversion-matched     ; exists on postings which have been matched with a nearby @/@@ cost notation
-tag _cost-matched     ; exists on postings which have been matched with a nearby @/@@ cost notation
+tag _cost-posting           ; exists on postings which have been matched with a nearby @/@@ cost notation
+tag _conversion-posting     ; exists on postings which have been matched with a nearby @/@@ cost notation
 $ hledger -f - check tags
diff --git a/hledger/test/journal/auto-postings.test b/hledger/test/journal/auto-postings.test
index 4746ebaeb..535f2108a 100644
--- a/hledger/test/journal/auto-postings.test
+++ b/hledger/test/journal/auto-postings.test
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@
 # ** 1. print. Auto-generated postings are inserted below the matched one.
 # With --verbose-tags, informative tags will also be added.
 $ hledger print -f- --auto --verbose-tags
-2016-01-01 paycheck  ; modified:
+2016-01-01 paycheck
+    ; modified-transaction: 
     income:remuneration           $-100
     (liabilities:tax)              $-33  ; income tax, generated-posting: = ^income
     income:donations               $-15
@@ -181,7 +182,8 @@ $ hledger print -f- --auto
 
 # ** 10.
 $ hledger -f- print --auto --verbose-tags
-2018-01-01  ; modified:
+2018-01-01
+    ; modified-transaction: 
     Expenses:Joint:Widgets     $100.00 @ £0.50
     Expenses:Joint            $-100.00 @ £0.50  ; generated-posting: = ^Expenses:Joint
     Liabilities:Joint:Bob       $50.00 @ £0.50  ; generated-posting: = ^Expenses:Joint
diff --git a/hledger/test/journal/costs.test b/hledger/test/journal/costs.test
index d663db0c3..144b62bd3 100644
--- a/hledger/test/journal/costs.test
+++ b/hledger/test/journal/costs.test
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ $ hledger -f- print --explicit --cost
 # and with --verbose-tags, they will be visibly tagged.
 $ hledger -f- print --infer-equity --verbose-tags
 2011-01-01
-    expenses:foreign currency    €100 @ $1.35
-    equity:conversion:$-€:€             €-100  ; generated-posting: conversion
-    equity:conversion:$-€:$           $135.00  ; generated-posting: conversion
+    expenses:foreign currency    €100 @ $1.35  ; cost-posting:
+    equity:conversion:$-€:€             €-100  ; conversion-posting:, generated-posting:
+    equity:conversion:$-€:$           $135.00  ; conversion-posting:, generated-posting:
     assets                           $-135.00
 
 >=0
diff --git a/hledger/test/rewrite.test b/hledger/test/rewrite.test
index 7d29f8310..ee157a2f7 100644
--- a/hledger/test/rewrite.test
+++ b/hledger/test/rewrite.test
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@
     assets:cash             $20
     assets:bank
 $ hledger rewrite -f- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax)  *.33  ; income tax' --verbose-tags
-2016-01-01 paycheck  ; modified:
+2016-01-01 paycheck
+    ; modified-transaction: 
     income:remuneration           $-100
     (liabilities:tax)              $-33  ; income tax, generated-posting: = ^income
     income:donations               $-15
@@ -181,12 +182,14 @@ $ hledger rewrite -f- assets:bank and 'amt:<0' --add-posting 'expenses:fee  $5'
     (budget:misc)  *-1
 
 $ hledger rewrite -f- date:2017/1  --add-posting 'Here comes Santa  $0' --verbose-tags
-2016-12-31  ; modified:
+2016-12-31
+    ; modified-transaction: 
     expenses:housing            $600
     (budget:housing)           $-600  ; generated-posting: = ^expenses:housing
     assets:cash
 
-2017-01-01  ; modified:
+2017-01-01
+    ; modified-transaction: 
     expenses:food                $20
     (budget:food)               $-20  ; generated-posting: = ^expenses:grocery ^expenses:food
     Here comes Santa              $0  ; generated-posting: = date:2017/1
@@ -199,7 +202,8 @@ $ hledger rewrite -f- date:2017/1  --add-posting 'Here comes Santa  $0' --verbos
     assets:cash
     Here comes Santa              $0  ; generated-posting: = date:2017/1
 
-2017-01-02  ; modified:
+2017-01-02
+    ; modified-transaction: 
     assets:cash              $200.00
     Here comes Santa              $0  ; generated-posting: = date:2017/1
     assets:bank