diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/executor/intermediate_results.c b/src/backend/distributed/executor/intermediate_results.c
index f4be6263c..9f417166f 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/executor/intermediate_results.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/executor/intermediate_results.c
@@ -117,6 +117,14 @@ broadcast_intermediate_result(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
+	/*
+	 * Make sure that this transaction has a distributed transaction ID.
+	 *
+	 * Intermediate results will be stored in a directory that is derived
+	 * from the distributed transaction ID.
+	 */
+	BeginOrContinueCoordinatedTransaction();
+
 	nodeList = ActivePrimaryNodeList();
 	estate = CreateExecutorState();
 	resultDest = (RemoteFileDestReceiver *) CreateRemoteFileDestReceiver(resultIdString,
@@ -151,6 +159,14 @@ create_intermediate_result(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	CheckCitusVersion(ERROR);
 
+	/*
+	 * Make sure that this transaction has a distributed transaction ID.
+	 *
+	 * Intermediate results will be stored in a directory that is derived
+	 * from the distributed transaction ID.
+	 */
+	BeginOrContinueCoordinatedTransaction();
+
 	estate = CreateExecutorState();
 	resultDest = (RemoteFileDestReceiver *) CreateRemoteFileDestReceiver(resultIdString,
 																		 estate, nodeList,
@@ -167,7 +183,9 @@ create_intermediate_result(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 /*
  * CreateRemoteFileDestReceiver creates a DestReceiver that streams results
- * to a set of worker nodes.
+ * to a set of worker nodes. If the scope of the intermediate result is a
+ * distributed transaction, then it's up to the caller to ensure that a
+ * coordinated transaction is started prior to using the DestReceiver.
  */
 DestReceiver *
 CreateRemoteFileDestReceiver(char *resultId, EState *executorState,
@@ -231,19 +249,6 @@ RemoteFileDestReceiverStartup(DestReceiver *dest, int operation,
 	resultDest->columnOutputFunctions = ColumnOutputFunctions(inputTupleDescriptor,
 															  copyOutState->binary);
 
-	/*
-	 * Make sure that this transaction has a distributed transaction ID.
-	 *
-	 * Intermediate results will be stored in a directory that is derived from
-	 * the distributed transaction ID across all workers and on the coordinator
-	 * itself. Even if we only store results locally, we still want to assign
-	 * a transaction ID in case we later store results on workers.
-	 *
-	 * When we start using broadcast_intermediate_result from workers, we
-	 * need to make sure that we don't override the transaction ID here.
-	 */
-	BeginOrContinueCoordinatedTransaction();
-
 	if (resultDest->writeLocalFile)
 	{
 		const int fileFlags = (O_APPEND | O_CREAT | O_RDWR | O_TRUNC | PG_BINARY);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/executor/subplan_execution.c b/src/backend/distributed/executor/subplan_execution.c
index 72a5860a5..2ce2ac3ae 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/executor/subplan_execution.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/executor/subplan_execution.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include "distributed/multi_physical_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/recursive_planning.h"
 #include "distributed/subplan_execution.h"
+#include "distributed/transaction_management.h"
 #include "distributed/worker_manager.h"
 #include "executor/executor.h"
 
@@ -43,6 +44,14 @@ ExecuteSubPlans(DistributedPlan *distributedPlan)
 		return;
 	}
 
+	/*
+	 * Make sure that this transaction has a distributed transaction ID.
+	 *
+	 * Intermediate results of subplans will be stored in a directory that is
+	 * derived from the distributed transaction ID.
+	 */
+	BeginOrContinueCoordinatedTransaction();
+
 	nodeList = ActiveReadableNodeList();
 
 	foreach(subPlanCell, subPlanList)
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifications.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifications.out
index 2ba2565c2..7c20eeaba 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifications.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifications.out
@@ -297,6 +297,16 @@ ERROR:  relation bidders is not distributed
 -- commands containing a CTE are supported
 WITH new_orders AS (INSERT INTO limit_orders VALUES (411, 'FLO', 12, '2017-07-02 16:32:15', 'buy', 66))
 DELETE FROM limit_orders WHERE id < 0;
+-- we have to be careful that modifying CTEs are part of the transaction and can thus roll back
+WITH new_orders AS (INSERT INTO limit_orders VALUES (412, 'FLO', 12, '2017-07-02 16:32:15', 'buy', 66))
+DELETE FROM limit_orders RETURNING id / 0;
+ERROR:  division by zero
+CONTEXT:  while executing command on localhost:57638
+SELECT * FROM limit_orders WHERE id = 412;
+ id | symbol | bidder_id | placed_at | kind | limit_price 
+----+--------+-----------+-----------+------+-------------
+(0 rows)
+
 INSERT INTO limit_orders VALUES (246, 'TSLA', 162, '2007-07-02 16:32:15', 'sell', 20.69);
 -- simple UPDATE
 UPDATE limit_orders SET symbol = 'GM' WHERE id = 246;
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_modifications.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_modifications.sql
index acde8543e..fd7f12f12 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_modifications.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_modifications.sql
@@ -201,6 +201,11 @@ DELETE FROM limit_orders USING bidders WHERE limit_orders.id = 246 AND
 WITH new_orders AS (INSERT INTO limit_orders VALUES (411, 'FLO', 12, '2017-07-02 16:32:15', 'buy', 66))
 DELETE FROM limit_orders WHERE id < 0;
 
+-- we have to be careful that modifying CTEs are part of the transaction and can thus roll back
+WITH new_orders AS (INSERT INTO limit_orders VALUES (412, 'FLO', 12, '2017-07-02 16:32:15', 'buy', 66))
+DELETE FROM limit_orders RETURNING id / 0;
+SELECT * FROM limit_orders WHERE id = 412;
+
 INSERT INTO limit_orders VALUES (246, 'TSLA', 162, '2007-07-02 16:32:15', 'sell', 20.69);
 
 -- simple UPDATE