diff --git a/lib/puppet/provider/package/portage.rb b/lib/puppet/provider/package/portage.rb
index 374667c3523..bfa0fd2bcc5 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/provider/package/portage.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/provider/package/portage.rb
@@ -2,9 +2,13 @@
 require 'fileutils'
 
 Puppet::Type.type(:package).provide :portage, :parent => Puppet::Provider::Package do
-  desc "Provides packaging support for Gentoo's portage system."
+  desc "Provides packaging support for Gentoo's portage system.
 
-  has_features :versionable, :reinstallable
+    This provider supports the `install_options` and `uninstall_options` attributes, which allows command-line
+    flags to be passed to apt-get.  These options should be specified as a string (e.g. '--flag'), a hash
+    (e.g. {'--flag' => 'value'}), or an array where each element is either a string or a hash."
+
+  has_features :versionable, :reinstallable, :install_options, :uninstall_options
 
   {
     :emerge => "/usr/bin/emerge",
@@ -57,12 +61,15 @@ def self.instances
 
   def install
     should = @resource.should(:ensure)
+    cmd = %w{}
     name = package_name
-    unless should == :present or should == :latest
+    if [:latest, :present].include?(should)
       # We must install a specific version
       name = package_atom_with_version(should)
     end
-    emerge name
+    cmd += install_options if @resource[:install_options]
+    cmd << name
+    emerge *cmd
   end
 
   # The common package name format.
@@ -89,7 +96,10 @@ def package_atom_with_version(version)
   end
 
   def uninstall
-    emerge "--unmerge", package_name
+    cmd = %w{--unmerge}
+    cmd += uninstall_options if @resource[:uninstall_options]
+    cmd << package_name
+    emerge *cmd
   end
 
   def reinstall
@@ -190,4 +200,12 @@ def self.eix_slot_versions_format
   def self.eix_search_arguments
     ["--nocolor", "--pure-packages", "--format",self.eix_search_format]
   end
+
+  def install_options
+    join_options(@resource[:install_options])
+  end
+
+  def uninstall_options
+    join_options(@resource[:uninstall_options])
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/unit/provider/package/portage_spec.rb b/spec/unit/provider/package/portage_spec.rb
index 00f2ebe6fc3..ce91397ecfa 100644
--- a/spec/unit/provider/package/portage_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/provider/package/portage_spec.rb
@@ -41,12 +41,34 @@
     expect(provider).to be_reinstallable
   end
 
-  it "uses :emerge to install packages" do
-    @provider.expects(:emerge)
+  it 'should support string install options' do
+    @resource.stubs(:[]).with(:install_options).returns(['--foo', '--bar'])
+    @provider.expects(:emerge).with('--foo', '--bar', @resource[:name])
 
     @provider.install
   end
 
+  it 'should support hash install options' do
+    @resource.stubs(:[]).with(:install_options).returns(['--foo', { '--bar' => 'baz', '--baz' => 'foo' }])
+    @provider.expects(:emerge).with('--foo', '--bar=baz', '--baz=foo', @resource[:name])
+
+    @provider.install
+  end
+
+  it 'should support string uninstall options' do
+    @resource.stubs(:[]).with(:uninstall_options).returns(['--foo', '--bar'])
+    @provider.expects(:emerge).with('--unmerge', '--foo', '--bar', @resource[:name])
+
+    @provider.uninstall
+  end
+
+  it 'should support hash uninstall options' do
+    @resource.stubs(:[]).with(:uninstall_options).returns(['--foo', { '--bar' => 'baz', '--baz' => 'foo' }])
+    @provider.expects(:emerge).with('--unmerge', '--foo', '--bar=baz', '--baz=foo', @resource[:name])
+
+    @provider.uninstall
+  end
+
   it "uses query to find the latest package" do
     @provider.expects(:query).returns({:versions_available => "myversion"})