diff --git a/docs/CONFIGURATION.md b/docs/CONFIGURATION.md
index 9b2eb99d8..609c770a1 100644
--- a/docs/CONFIGURATION.md
+++ b/docs/CONFIGURATION.md
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ ie, a jitter of 5s and flush_interval 10s means flushes will happen every 10-15s
 * **precision**: By default, precision will be set to the same timestamp order
 as the collection interval, with the maximum being 1s. Precision will NOT
 be used for service inputs, such as logparser and statsd. Valid values are
-"ns", "us" (or "µs"), "ms", "s".
+"1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms", "1s".
 * **logfile**: Specify the log file name. The empty string means to log to stdout.
 * **debug**: Run telegraf in debug mode.
 * **quiet**: Run telegraf in quiet mode (error messages only).
diff --git a/etc/telegraf.conf b/etc/telegraf.conf
index 8ebf0a7a7..57e1418b9 100644
--- a/etc/telegraf.conf
+++ b/etc/telegraf.conf
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
   ## By default, precision will be set to the same timestamp order as the
   ## collection interval, with the maximum being 1s.
   ## Precision will NOT be used for service inputs, such as logparser and statsd.
-  ## Valid values are "ns", "us" (or "µs"), "ms", "s".
+  ## Valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms", "1s".
   precision = ""
 
   ## Logging configuration:
diff --git a/etc/telegraf_windows.conf b/etc/telegraf_windows.conf
index ca0357ef3..55385560b 100644
--- a/etc/telegraf_windows.conf
+++ b/etc/telegraf_windows.conf
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
   urls = ["http://localhost:8086"] # required
   # The target database for metrics (telegraf will create it if not exists)
   database = "telegraf" # required
-  # Precision of writes, valid values are "ns", "us" (or "µs"), "ms", "s", "m", "h".
+  # Precision of writes, valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms", "1s", "1m", "1h".
   # note: using second precision greatly helps InfluxDB compression
   precision = "s"
 
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 24dec4169..ea16a77a3 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ var header = `# Telegraf Configuration
   ## By default, precision will be set to the same timestamp order as the
   ## collection interval, with the maximum being 1s.
   ## Precision will NOT be used for service inputs, such as logparser and statsd.
-  ## Valid values are "ns", "us" (or "µs"), "ms", "s".
+  ## Valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms", "1s".
   precision = ""
 
   ## Logging configuration:
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/amqp/amqp.go b/plugins/outputs/amqp/amqp.go
index d86cac596..c78485d75 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/amqp/amqp.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/amqp/amqp.go
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ type AMQP struct {
 	RetentionPolicy string
 	// InfluxDB precision (DEPRECATED)
 	Precision string
+	// OutputPrecision string (parsed as a duration,
+	// only used for JSON output)
+	OutputPrecision string
 
 	// Path to CA file
 	SSLCA string `toml:"ssl_ca"`
@@ -78,6 +81,15 @@ var sampleConfig = `
   ## InfluxDB database
   # database = "telegraf"
 
+  ## The output_precision parameter can be used to specify the units that should
+  ## be used when creating timestamps and is only used when the data_format is
+  ## set to "json"; in that case valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms",
+  ## or "1s"; for the other supported data_format types, the precision will depend
+  ## on the data_format (seconds for "graphite" data, nanoseconds for "influx"
+  ## data); if unspecified, then the timestamps output with "json" data
+  ## will be in seconds
+  output_precision = ""
+
   ## Optional SSL Config
   # ssl_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
   # ssl_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
@@ -187,7 +199,7 @@ func (q *AMQP) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 			}
 		}
 
-		buf, err := q.serializer.Serialize(metric)
+		buf, err := q.serializer.Serialize(metric, q.OutputPrecision)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/file/file.go b/plugins/outputs/file/file.go
index e05d0fe83..d8a7c58fd 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/file/file.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/file/file.go
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ import (
 
 type File struct {
 	Files []string
+	// OutputPrecision string (parsed as a duration,
+	// only used for JSON output)
+	OutputPrecision string
 
 	writer  io.Writer
 	closers []io.Closer
@@ -23,6 +26,15 @@ var sampleConfig = `
   ## Files to write to, "stdout" is a specially handled file.
   files = ["stdout", "/tmp/metrics.out"]
 
+  ## The output_precision parameter can be used to specify the units that should
+  ## be used when creating timestamps and is only used when the data_format is
+  ## set to "json"; in that case valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms",
+  ## or "1s"; for the other supported data_format types, the precision will depend
+  ## on the data_format (seconds for "graphite" data, nanoseconds for "influx"
+  ## data); if unspecified, then the timestamps output with "json" data
+  ## will be in seconds
+  output_precision = ""
+
   ## Data format to output.
   ## Each data format has it's own unique set of configuration options, read
   ## more about them here:
@@ -92,7 +104,7 @@ func (f *File) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 	}
 
 	for _, metric := range metrics {
-		b, err := f.serializer.Serialize(metric)
+		b, err := f.serializer.Serialize(metric, f.OutputPrecision)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to serialize message: %s", err)
 		}
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/kafka/kafka.go b/plugins/outputs/kafka/kafka.go
index 0bec92812..646648d48 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/kafka/kafka.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/kafka/kafka.go
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ type Kafka struct {
 	RequiredAcks int
 	// MaxRetry Tag
 	MaxRetry int
+	// OutputPrecision string (parsed as a duration,
+	// only used for JSON output)
+	OutputPrecision string
 
 	// Legacy SSL config options
 	// TLS client certificate
@@ -85,6 +88,15 @@ var sampleConfig = `
   ##  The total number of times to retry sending a message
   max_retry = 3
 
+  ## The output_precision parameter can be used to specify the units that should
+  ## be used when creating timestamps and is only used when the data_format is
+  ## set to "json"; in that case valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms",
+  ## or "1s"; for the other supported data_format types, the precision will depend
+  ## on the data_format (seconds for "graphite" data, nanoseconds for "influx"
+  ## data); if unspecified, then the timestamps output with "json" data
+  ## will be in seconds
+  output_precision = ""
+
   ## Optional SSL Config
   # ssl_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
   # ssl_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
@@ -154,7 +166,7 @@ func (k *Kafka) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 	}
 
 	for _, metric := range metrics {
-		buf, err := k.serializer.Serialize(metric)
+		buf, err := k.serializer.Serialize(metric, k.OutputPrecision)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/mqtt/mqtt.go b/plugins/outputs/mqtt/mqtt.go
index 45f2c91c8..5cca994bf 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/mqtt/mqtt.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/mqtt/mqtt.go
@@ -25,6 +25,15 @@ var sampleConfig = `
   # username = "telegraf"
   # password = "metricsmetricsmetricsmetrics"
 
+  ## The output_precision parameter can be used to specify the units that should
+  ## be used when creating timestamps and is only used when the data_format is
+  ## set to "json"; in that case valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms",
+  ## or "1s"; for the other supported data_format types, the precision will depend
+  ## on the data_format (seconds for "graphite" data, nanoseconds for "influx"
+  ## data); if unspecified, then the timestamps output with "json" data
+  ## will be in seconds
+  output_precision = ""
+
   ## Optional SSL Config
   # ssl_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
   # ssl_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
@@ -47,6 +56,9 @@ type MQTT struct {
 	Timeout     internal.Duration
 	TopicPrefix string
 	QoS         int `toml:"qos"`
+	// OutputPrecision string (parsed as a duration,
+	// only used for JSON output)
+	OutputPrecision string
 
 	// Path to CA file
 	SSLCA string `toml:"ssl_ca"`
@@ -128,7 +140,7 @@ func (m *MQTT) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 		t = append(t, metric.Name())
 		topic := strings.Join(t, "/")
 
-		buf, err := m.serializer.Serialize(metric)
+		buf, err := m.serializer.Serialize(metric, m.OutputPrecision)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("MQTT Could not serialize metric: %s",
 				metric.String())
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/nats/nats.go b/plugins/outputs/nats/nats.go
index e65e799cf..aeaaee6fc 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/nats/nats.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/nats/nats.go
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ type NATS struct {
 	Password string
 	// NATS subject to publish metrics to
 	Subject string
+	// OutputPrecision string (parsed as a duration,
+	// only used for JSON output)
+	OutputPrecision string
 
 	// Path to CA file
 	SSLCA string `toml:"ssl_ca"`
@@ -41,6 +44,14 @@ var sampleConfig = `
   # password = ""
   ## NATS subject for producer messages
   subject = "telegraf"
+  ## The output_precision parameter can be used to specify the units that should
+  ## be used when creating timestamps and is only used when the data_format is
+  ## set to "json"; in that case valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms",
+  ## or "1s"; for the other supported data_format types, the precision will depend
+  ## on the data_format (seconds for "graphite" data, nanoseconds for "influx"
+  ## data); if unspecified, then the timestamps output with "json" data
+  ## will be in seconds
+  output_precision = ""
 
   ## Optional SSL Config
   # ssl_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
@@ -115,7 +126,7 @@ func (n *NATS) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 	}
 
 	for _, metric := range metrics {
-		buf, err := n.serializer.Serialize(metric)
+		buf, err := n.serializer.Serialize(metric, n.OutputPrecision)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/plugins/outputs/nsq/nsq.go b/plugins/outputs/nsq/nsq.go
index bd1705c10..29c4d9c5a 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/nsq/nsq.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/nsq/nsq.go
@@ -11,8 +11,12 @@ import (
 )
 
 type NSQ struct {
-	Server   string
-	Topic    string
+	Server string
+	Topic  string
+	// OutputPrecision string (parsed as a duration,
+	// only used for JSON output)
+	OutputPrecision string
+
 	producer *nsq.Producer
 
 	serializer serializers.Serializer
@@ -23,6 +27,14 @@ var sampleConfig = `
   server = "localhost:4150"
   ## NSQ topic for producer messages
   topic = "telegraf"
+  ## The output_precision parameter can be used to specify the units that should
+  ## be used when creating timestamps and is only used when the data_format is
+  ## set to "json"; in that case valid values are "1ns", "1us" (or "1µs"), "1ms",
+  ## or "1s"; for the other supported data_format types, the precision will depend
+  ## on the data_format (seconds for "graphite" data, nanoseconds for "influx"
+  ## data); if unspecified, then the timestamps output with "json" data
+  ## will be in seconds
+  output_precision = ""
 
   ## Data format to output.
   ## Each data format has it's own unique set of configuration options, read
@@ -66,7 +78,7 @@ func (n *NSQ) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 	}
 
 	for _, metric := range metrics {
-		buf, err := n.serializer.Serialize(metric)
+		buf, err := n.serializer.Serialize(metric, n.OutputPrecision)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/plugins/serializers/graphite/graphite.go b/plugins/serializers/graphite/graphite.go
index 57ddea76f..1d8a41d7b 100644
--- a/plugins/serializers/graphite/graphite.go
+++ b/plugins/serializers/graphite/graphite.go
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ type GraphiteSerializer struct {
 	Template string
 }
 
-func (s *GraphiteSerializer) Serialize(metric telegraf.Metric) ([]byte, error) {
+func (s *GraphiteSerializer) Serialize(metric telegraf.Metric, output_precision ...string) ([]byte, error) {
 	out := []byte{}
 
 	// Convert UnixNano to Unix timestamps
diff --git a/plugins/serializers/influx/influx.go b/plugins/serializers/influx/influx.go
index 459a8a74b..cd2c567eb 100644
--- a/plugins/serializers/influx/influx.go
+++ b/plugins/serializers/influx/influx.go
@@ -7,6 +7,6 @@ import (
 type InfluxSerializer struct {
 }
 
-func (s *InfluxSerializer) Serialize(m telegraf.Metric) ([]byte, error) {
+func (s *InfluxSerializer) Serialize(m telegraf.Metric, output_precision ...string) ([]byte, error) {
 	return m.Serialize(), nil
 }
diff --git a/plugins/serializers/json/json.go b/plugins/serializers/json/json.go
index 3e259fafd..8f02b7f85 100644
--- a/plugins/serializers/json/json.go
+++ b/plugins/serializers/json/json.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package json
 
 import (
 	ejson "encoding/json"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
 )
@@ -9,12 +10,31 @@ import (
 type JsonSerializer struct {
 }
 
-func (s *JsonSerializer) Serialize(metric telegraf.Metric) ([]byte, error) {
+func (s *JsonSerializer) Serialize(metric telegraf.Metric, output_precision ...string) ([]byte, error) {
+	// if no duration is specified, or if the output_precision value passed
+	// in represents a duration that is not greater than zero, then default
+	// to an output resolution for our timestamp values of 1 second (timestamps
+	// will be returned to the nearest second)
+	default_val := "1s"
+	var output_resolution time.Duration
+	if len(output_precision) > 0 && len(output_precision[0]) > 0 {
+		parsed_val, err := time.ParseDuration(output_precision[0])
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if parsed_val > 0.0 {
+			output_resolution = parsed_val
+		} else {
+			output_resolution, _ = time.ParseDuration(default_val)
+		}
+	} else {
+		output_resolution, _ = time.ParseDuration(default_val)
+	}
 	m := make(map[string]interface{})
 	m["tags"] = metric.Tags()
 	m["fields"] = metric.Fields()
 	m["name"] = metric.Name()
-	m["timestamp"] = metric.UnixNano() / 1000000000
+	m["timestamp"] = metric.UnixNano() / output_resolution.Nanoseconds()
 	serialized, err := ejson.Marshal(m)
 	if err != nil {
 		return []byte{}, err
diff --git a/plugins/serializers/registry.go b/plugins/serializers/registry.go
index 83be4900b..e49ccd102 100644
--- a/plugins/serializers/registry.go
+++ b/plugins/serializers/registry.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ type Serializer interface {
 	// Serialize takes a single telegraf metric and turns it into a byte buffer.
 	// separate metrics should be separated by a newline, and there should be
 	// a newline at the end of the buffer.
-	Serialize(metric telegraf.Metric) ([]byte, error)
+	Serialize(metric telegraf.Metric, output_precision ...string) ([]byte, error)
 }
 
 // Config is a struct that covers the data types needed for all serializer types,