diff --git a/application.go b/application.go
index f3e2be305a..6a381630a3 100644
--- a/application.go
+++ b/application.go
@@ -1,6 +1,25 @@
 package stripe
 
+import "encoding/json"
+
 type Application struct {
 	ID   string `json:"id"`
 	Name string `json:"name"`
 }
+
+// UnmarshalJSON handles deserialization of an Application.
+// This custom unmarshaling is needed because the resulting
+// property may be an id or the full struct if it was expanded.
+func (a *Application) UnmarshalJSON(data []byte) error {
+	type application Application
+	var aa application
+	err := json.Unmarshal(data, &aa)
+	if err == nil {
+		*a = Application(aa)
+	} else {
+		// the id is surrounded by "\" characters, so strip them
+		a.ID = string(data[1 : len(data)-1])
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}