diff --git a/app/helpers/goals_helper.rb b/app/helpers/goals_helper.rb
index 13eb4d4e3..2c1fb225e 100644
--- a/app/helpers/goals_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/goals_helper.rb
@@ -35,8 +35,21 @@ module GoalsHelper
   # they reserve no fixed slice. That is the right reading here — what they
   # do claim is guarded separately, at write time, by GoalAccount.
   def earmarked_by_other_goals(account, pooled:, current_goal: nil)
-    (pooled[account.id] || [])
-      .reject { |row| current_goal&.persisted? && row[:goal_id] == current_goal.id }
-      .sum { |row| row[:allocated_amount].to_d }
+    other_goal_rows(account, pooled, current_goal).sum { |row| row[:allocated_amount].to_d }
   end
+
+  # A whole-account link carries a nil allocation, so it contributes zero to
+  # the sum above — "nothing else claims this account" and "another goal
+  # claims all of it" look identical from that figure alone. They are not:
+  # the second refuses a blank allocation at the door
+  # (`GoalAccount#whole_account_link_must_be_exclusive`).
+  def whole_account_claimed_by_other_goals?(account, pooled:, current_goal: nil)
+    other_goal_rows(account, pooled, current_goal).any? { |row| row[:allocated_amount].nil? }
+  end
+
+  private
+    def other_goal_rows(account, pooled, current_goal)
+      (pooled[account.id] || [])
+        .reject { |row| current_goal&.persisted? && row[:goal_id] == current_goal.id }
+    end
 end
diff --git a/app/javascript/controllers/goal_earmark_controller.js b/app/javascript/controllers/goal_earmark_controller.js
index 6e2aa855a..2295a27a8 100644
--- a/app/javascript/controllers/goal_earmark_controller.js
+++ b/app/javascript/controllers/goal_earmark_controller.js
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ export default class extends Controller {
     wholeBalance: String,
     prorata: String,
     headroom: String,
+    wholeBalanceAlone: String,
   }
 
   // A complete number, optionally with one decimal separator and digits after
@@ -49,10 +50,19 @@ export default class extends Controller {
 
     const balance = Number.parseFloat(row.dataset.balance || "0")
     const others = Number.parseFloat(row.dataset.earmarkedByOthers || "0")
+    // A whole-account link elsewhere sums to zero above, so the amount alone
+    // cannot tell "nobody else claims this" from "somebody claims all of it".
+    const claimedWhole = row.dataset.wholeAccountClaimed === "true"
     const raw = input.value.trim()
 
+    // "whatever is left after the other earmarks" describes nothing when there
+    // are none — and this is where a first-time user meets the word, pointed
+    // at something absent. With the account to itself, say that instead.
     if (raw === "") {
-      return this.#show(warning, this.wholeBalanceValue)
+      return this.#show(
+        warning,
+        others > 0 || claimedWhole ? this.wholeBalanceValue : this.wholeBalanceAloneValue,
+      )
     }
 
     if (!this.constructor.ALLOCATION_PATTERN.test(raw)) return this.#hide(warning)
diff --git a/app/views/goals/_form.html.erb b/app/views/goals/_form.html.erb
index 1cdd3949f..f6de2a666 100644
--- a/app/views/goals/_form.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/goals/_form.html.erb
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@
                the server decides the locale and the client applies it. %>
            data-goal-earmark-locale-value="<%= I18n.locale %>"
            data-goal-earmark-whole-balance-value="<%= t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance") %>"
+           data-goal-earmark-whole-balance-alone-value="<%= t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance_alone") %>"
            data-goal-earmark-prorata-value="<%= t("goals.form.earmark.prorata") %>"
            data-goal-earmark-headroom-value="<%= t("goals.form.earmark.headroom") %>">
         <% linked_allocation_by_account = goal.goal_accounts.index_by(&:account_id) %>
@@ -136,7 +137,8 @@
               <% linked_ga = linked_allocation_by_account[account.id] %>
               <div class="px-3 py-2.5 hover:bg-surface-hover <%= "border-t border-subdued" if idx > 0 %>"
                    data-balance="<%= account.balance.to_d %>"
-                   data-earmarked-by-others="<%= earmarked_by_other_goals(account, pooled: pooled_allocations, current_goal: goal) %>">
+                   data-earmarked-by-others="<%= earmarked_by_other_goals(account, pooled: pooled_allocations, current_goal: goal) %>"
+                   data-whole-account-claimed="<%= whole_account_claimed_by_other_goals?(account, pooled: pooled_allocations, current_goal: goal) %>">
               <div class="flex items-center gap-3">
                 <label class="flex items-center gap-3 flex-1 min-w-0 cursor-pointer">
                   <%= check_box_tag "goal[account_ids][]",
diff --git a/config/locales/views/goals/en.yml b/config/locales/views/goals/en.yml
index 5a709b14d..cad0a8f0e 100644
--- a/config/locales/views/goals/en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/views/goals/en.yml
@@ -316,6 +316,7 @@ en:
         headroom: "{left} left to earmark on this account."
         prorata: "Your goals on this account come to {total} for a balance of {balance} — they will progress pro rata."
         whole_balance: This account will fund whatever is left after the other earmarks.
+        whole_balance_alone: "This goal will use this account's whole balance."
       fields:
         target_mode: How the target balance is set
         target_months: Months of expenses
diff --git a/config/locales/views/goals/fr.yml b/config/locales/views/goals/fr.yml
index f0e41b46a..844380c1a 100644
--- a/config/locales/views/goals/fr.yml
+++ b/config/locales/views/goals/fr.yml
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ fr:
         headroom: "Il reste {left} affectables sur ce compte."
         prorata: "Vos objectifs sur ce compte totalisent {total} pour un solde de {balance} : ils progresseront au prorata."
         whole_balance: Ce compte financera le solde restant après les autres affectations.
+        whole_balance_alone: "Cet objectif utilisera tout le solde de ce compte."
       fields:
         target_mode: Comment le solde cible est fixé
         target_months: Mois de dépenses
diff --git a/test/controllers/goals_controller_test.rb b/test/controllers/goals_controller_test.rb
index 35f49689f..b17d1991e 100644
--- a/test/controllers/goals_controller_test.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/goals_controller_test.rb
@@ -921,6 +921,50 @@ class GoalsControllerTest < ActionDispatch::IntegrationTest
     end
 
 
+    # The row must carry both readings, since one of them is invisible to the
+    # other: a whole-account claim elsewhere sums to zero, and without the flag
+    # the form would tell the user the account is theirs alone and then refuse
+    # the blank allocation on submit.
+    test "each account row carries the whole-account claim as well as the sum" do
+      account = unclaimed_account("Claimed Pot")
+      @user.family.goals.create!(name: "Neighbour", target_amount: 5_000, currency: "USD") do |g|
+        g.goal_accounts.build(account: account)
+      end
+
+      get new_goal_url
+
+      assert_response :success
+      assert_match(/data-earmarked-by-others="0(\.0)?"[^>]*data-whole-account-claimed="true"/m, response.body)
+    end
+
+    # The hint for a blank amount is chosen client-side from two strings the
+    # form hands over. A missing one does not raise — the value reads as
+    # undefined and the line renders empty — so the wiring is what needs
+    # pinning, not the ternary that picks between them.
+    test "the form carries both blank-amount hints" do
+      unclaimed_account("Hint Pot")
+
+      get new_goal_url
+
+      assert_response :success
+      # Escaped: the copy carries an apostrophe, and the attribute value in the
+      # response is HTML-escaped.
+      assert_includes response.body, ERB::Util.html_escape(I18n.t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance_alone"))
+      assert_includes response.body, ERB::Util.html_escape(I18n.t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance"))
+    end
+
+    # The two must stay distinguishable: if they ever say the same thing, the
+    # branch is doing nothing and a first-time user is back to being told about
+    # earmarks that do not exist.
+    test "the two blank-amount hints say different things" do
+      assert_not_equal I18n.t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance"),
+                       I18n.t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance_alone")
+      assert_no_match(/earmark/i, I18n.t("goals.form.earmark.whole_balance_alone"),
+        "the hint shown with no other claims should not mention earmarks")
+    end
+
+  private
+
     # A private account of another member, linked to the goal under test.
     def private_linked_account
       account = Account.create!(
diff --git a/test/helpers/goals_helper_test.rb b/test/helpers/goals_helper_test.rb
index 27c349b27..d584cdaac 100644
--- a/test/helpers/goals_helper_test.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/goals_helper_test.rb
@@ -61,6 +61,31 @@ class GoalsHelperTest < ActionView::TestCase
     assert_equal BigDecimal("750"), earmarked_by_other_goals(@account, pooled: pooled)
   end
 
+
+  # A whole-account link carries a nil allocation, so it sums to zero — the
+  # figure alone cannot tell "nobody else claims this account" from "another
+  # goal claims all of it". The second refuses a blank allocation at the door,
+  # so a form that reads them the same way promises something it cannot keep.
+  test "a whole-account claim is invisible to the sum but not to the predicate" do
+    build_goal("Whole", nil)
+
+    assert_equal BigDecimal("0"), earmarked_by_other_goals(@account, pooled: pooled)
+    assert whole_account_claimed_by_other_goals?(@account, pooled: pooled)
+  end
+
+  test "fixed earmarks alone leave the account unclaimed as a whole" do
+    build_goal("A", 2_000)
+
+    assert_not whole_account_claimed_by_other_goals?(@account, pooled: pooled)
+  end
+
+  # The goal being edited never counts against itself, on either reading.
+  test "the goal being edited is excluded from the whole-account check" do
+    mine = build_goal("Mine", nil)
+
+    assert_not whole_account_claimed_by_other_goals?(@account, pooled: pooled, current_goal: mine)
+  end
+
   private
     def build_goal(name, allocated)
       @family.goals.create!(name: name, target_amount: 10_000, currency: "USD") do |g|