diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index f5eabaa032..c09a766f54 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -5065,6 +5065,29 @@ bool bdrv_is_sg(BlockDriverState *bs)
     return bs->sg;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Return whether the given node supports compressed writes.
+ */
+bool bdrv_supports_compressed_writes(BlockDriverState *bs)
+{
+    BlockDriverState *filtered;
+
+    if (!bs->drv || !block_driver_can_compress(bs->drv)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    filtered = bdrv_filter_bs(bs);
+    if (filtered) {
+        /*
+         * Filters can only forward compressed writes, so we have to
+         * check the child.
+         */
+        return bdrv_supports_compressed_writes(filtered);
+    }
+
+    return true;
+}
+
 const char *bdrv_get_format_name(BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     return bs->drv ? bs->drv->format_name : NULL;
diff --git a/include/block/block.h b/include/block/block.h
index 2c09b93d07..981ab5b314 100644
--- a/include/block/block.h
+++ b/include/block/block.h
@@ -532,6 +532,7 @@ BlockDriverState *bdrv_next(BdrvNextIterator *it);
 void bdrv_next_cleanup(BdrvNextIterator *it);
 
 BlockDriverState *bdrv_next_monitor_owned(BlockDriverState *bs);
+bool bdrv_supports_compressed_writes(BlockDriverState *bs);
 void bdrv_iterate_format(void (*it)(void *opaque, const char *name),
                          void *opaque, bool read_only);
 const char *bdrv_get_node_name(const BlockDriverState *bs);