diff --git a/lib/gnucash/account.rb b/lib/gnucash/account.rb
index 58ac448..71f1cd7 100644
--- a/lib/gnucash/account.rb
+++ b/lib/gnucash/account.rb
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ module Gnucash
     # account.
     attr_accessor :transactions
 
+    # Boolean: whether the account is a placeholder or not
+    attr_accessor :placeholder
+
     # Create an Account object.
     # === Arguments
     # +book+ _Book_:: The Gnucash::Book containing the account
@@ -28,6 +31,10 @@ module Gnucash
       @parent_id = nil if @parent_id == ""
       @transactions = []
       @balances = []
+      @placeholder = node.xpath("act:slots/slot").find do |slot|
+        (slot.xpath("slot:key").first.text == "placeholder" and
+         slot.xpath("slot:value").first.text == "true")
+      end
     end
 
     # Return the fully qualified account name
diff --git a/spec/gnucash/account_spec.rb b/spec/gnucash/account_spec.rb
index 7d6d15d..c13e10b 100644
--- a/spec/gnucash/account_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/gnucash/account_spec.rb
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@ module Gnucash
     before(:all) do
       # just read the file once
       @book = Gnucash.open("spec/books/sample.gnucash")
+      @assets = @book.find_account_by_full_name("Assets")
       @checking = @book.find_account_by_full_name("Assets::Current Assets::Checking Account")
+      @income = @book.find_account_by_full_name("Income")
       @salary = @book.find_account_by_full_name("Income::Salary")
     end
 
@@ -36,5 +38,12 @@ module Gnucash
         @checking.balance_on("2007-03-27").should == Value.new(780000)
       end
     end
+
+    it "stores whether the account was a placeholder" do
+      @assets.placeholder.should be_true
+      @checking.placeholder.should be_false
+      @income.placeholder.should be_true
+      @salary.placeholder.should be_false
+    end
   end
 end