diff --git a/django/core/management/base.py b/django/core/management/base.py
index ce9ba0be48c..9434691ccbc 100644
--- a/django/core/management/base.py
+++ b/django/core/management/base.py
@@ -348,18 +348,17 @@ class BaseCommand(object):
             output = self.handle(*args, **options)
             if output:
                 if self.output_transaction:
-                    # This needs to be imported here, because it relies on
-                    # settings.
-                    from django.db import connections, DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS
                     connection = connections[options.get('database', DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS)]
-                    if connection.ops.start_transaction_sql():
-                        self.stdout.write(self.style.SQL_KEYWORD(connection.ops.start_transaction_sql()))
+                    output = '%s\n%s\n%s' % (
+                        self.style.SQL_KEYWORD(connection.ops.start_transaction_sql()),
+                        output,
+                        self.style.SQL_KEYWORD(connection.ops.end_transaction_sql()),
+                    )
                 self.stdout.write(output)
-                if self.output_transaction:
-                    self.stdout.write('\n' + self.style.SQL_KEYWORD(connection.ops.end_transaction_sql()))
         finally:
             if saved_locale is not None:
                 translation.activate(saved_locale)
+        return output
 
     def check(self, app_configs=None, tags=None, display_num_errors=False,
               include_deployment_checks=False, fail_level=checks.ERROR):
diff --git a/docs/ref/django-admin.txt b/docs/ref/django-admin.txt
index 87753b28bd8..6a7752f40cd 100644
--- a/docs/ref/django-admin.txt
+++ b/docs/ref/django-admin.txt
@@ -1793,6 +1793,14 @@ Command options which take multiple options are passed a list::
 
       management.call_command('dumpdata', exclude=['contenttypes', 'auth'])
 
+The return value of the ``call_command()`` function is the same as the return
+value of the ``handle()`` method of the command.
+
+.. versionchanged:: 1.10
+
+    ``call_command()`` now returns the value received from the
+    ``command.handle()`` method.
+
 Output redirection
 ==================
 
diff --git a/docs/releases/1.10.txt b/docs/releases/1.10.txt
index db6b730670c..658a3646bd3 100644
--- a/docs/releases/1.10.txt
+++ b/docs/releases/1.10.txt
@@ -230,6 +230,9 @@ Internationalization
 Management Commands
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
+* :func:`~django.core.management.call_command` now returns the value returned
+  from the ``command.handle()`` method.
+
 * The new :option:`check --fail-level` option allows specifying the message
   level that will cause the command to exit with a non-zero status.
 
diff --git a/tests/user_commands/tests.py b/tests/user_commands/tests.py
index 9c27fb66692..f4e6c663534 100644
--- a/tests/user_commands/tests.py
+++ b/tests/user_commands/tests.py
@@ -61,17 +61,15 @@ class CommandTests(SimpleTestCase):
 
     def test_deactivate_locale_set(self):
         # Deactivate translation when set to true
-        out = StringIO()
         with translation.override('pl'):
-            management.call_command('leave_locale_alone_false', stdout=out)
-            self.assertEqual(out.getvalue(), "")
+            result = management.call_command('leave_locale_alone_false', stdout=StringIO())
+            self.assertIsNone(result)
 
     def test_configured_locale_preserved(self):
         # Leaves locale from settings when set to false
-        out = StringIO()
         with translation.override('pl'):
-            management.call_command('leave_locale_alone_true', stdout=out)
-            self.assertEqual(out.getvalue(), "pl\n")
+            result = management.call_command('leave_locale_alone_true', stdout=StringIO())
+            self.assertEqual(result, "pl")
 
     def test_find_command_without_PATH(self):
         """
@@ -132,16 +130,13 @@ class CommandTests(SimpleTestCase):
         self.assertIn("Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it.\n", out.getvalue())
 
     def test_calling_a_command_with_no_app_labels_and_parameters_should_raise_a_command_error(self):
-        out = StringIO()
         with self.assertRaises(CommandError):
-            management.call_command('hal', stdout=out)
+            management.call_command('hal', stdout=StringIO())
 
     def test_output_transaction(self):
-        out = StringIO()
-        management.call_command('transaction', stdout=out, no_color=True)
-        output = out.getvalue().strip()
-        self.assertTrue(output.startswith(connection.ops.start_transaction_sql()))
-        self.assertTrue(output.endswith(connection.ops.end_transaction_sql()))
+        output = management.call_command('transaction', stdout=StringIO(), no_color=True)
+        self.assertTrue(output.strip().startswith(connection.ops.start_transaction_sql()))
+        self.assertTrue(output.strip().endswith(connection.ops.end_transaction_sql()))
 
     def test_call_command_no_checks(self):
         """