diff --git a/gui/qt/main_window.py b/gui/qt/main_window.py
index 047d12b1..9055cf96 100644
--- a/gui/qt/main_window.py
+++ b/gui/qt/main_window.py
@@ -2244,9 +2244,10 @@ class ElectrumWindow(QMainWindow, MessageBoxMixin, PrintError):
 
 
     def tx_from_text(self, txt):
-        from electrum.transaction import tx_from_str
+        from electrum.transaction import tx_from_str, Transaction
         try:
-            return tx_from_str(txt)
+            tx = tx_from_str(txt)
+            return Transaction(tx)
         except:
             traceback.print_exc(file=sys.stdout)
             self.show_critical(_("Electrum was unable to parse your transaction"))
diff --git a/lib/commands.py b/lib/commands.py
index 776b1c79..13a11985 100644
--- a/lib/commands.py
+++ b/lib/commands.py
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ class Commands:
     @command('wp')
     def signtransaction(self, tx, privkey=None):
         """Sign a transaction. The wallet keys will be used unless a private key is provided."""
+        tx = Transaction(tx)
         if privkey:
             pubkey = bitcoin.public_key_from_private_key(privkey)
             h160 = bitcoin.hash_160(pubkey.decode('hex'))
@@ -228,11 +229,13 @@ class Commands:
     @command('')
     def deserialize(self, tx):
         """Deserialize a serialized transaction"""
+        tx = Transaction(tx)
         return tx.deserialize()
 
     @command('n')
     def broadcast(self, tx, timeout=30):
         """Broadcast a transaction to the network. """
+        tx = Transaction(tx)
         return self.network.broadcast(tx, timeout)
 
     @command('')
diff --git a/lib/transaction.py b/lib/transaction.py
index a5235aaa..ed0e7dbb 100644
--- a/lib/transaction.py
+++ b/lib/transaction.py
@@ -872,8 +872,7 @@ def tx_from_str(txt):
     except:
         is_hex = False
     if is_hex:
-        return Transaction(txt)
+        return txt
     tx_dict = json.loads(str(txt))
     assert "hex" in tx_dict.keys()
-    tx = Transaction(tx_dict["hex"])
-    return tx
+    return tx_dict["hex"]