diff --git a/changes/bug17170 b/changes/bug17170
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..24a9b94fcf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/bug17170
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+  o Documentation:
+    - Note that bandwidth-limiting options don't affect TCP headers or DNS.
+      Closes ticket 17170.
diff --git a/doc/tor.1.txt b/doc/tor.1.txt
index 1665cfe947..2f8d7bdd09 100644
--- a/doc/tor.1.txt
+++ b/doc/tor.1.txt
@@ -184,6 +184,9 @@ GENERAL OPTIONS
     relay (that is, 600 kbits) or 50 KBytes for a bridge (400 kbits) -- but of
     course, more is better; we recommend at least 250 KBytes (2 mbits) if
     possible.  (Default: 1 GByte) +
+ +
+    Note that this option, and other bandwidth-limiting options, apply to TCP
+    data only: They do not count TCP headers or DNS traffic. +
  +
     With this option, and in other options that take arguments in bytes,
     KBytes, and so on, other formats are also supported. Notably, "KBytes" can