diff --git a/base/compiler/optimize.jl b/base/compiler/optimize.jl
index a42d02b8b70b4..7d41ddd2afe03 100644
--- a/base/compiler/optimize.jl
+++ b/base/compiler/optimize.jl
@@ -268,6 +268,31 @@ plus_saturate(x::Int, y::Int) = max(x, y, x+y)
 # known return type
 isknowntype(@nospecialize T) = (T == Union{}) || isconcretetype(T)
 
+# return a flag that indicates whether a given line is on a return-path
+# (meaning, is not on a branch that terminates in :unreachable)
+function lines_return(a::Vector{Any})
+    ir = fill(true, length(a))
+    for i = length(a):-1:1
+        ai = a[i]
+        if isa(ai, Expr)
+            if ai.head == :return
+            elseif ai.head == :unreachable
+                ir[i] = false
+            elseif ai.head == :gotoifnot
+                ln = ai.args[2]
+                ir[i] = ir[i+1] | (ln > i && ir[ln])
+            else
+                ir[i] = ir[i+1]
+            end
+        elseif isa(ai, GotoNode)
+            ir[i] = ir[ai.label]
+        else
+            ir[i] = ir[i+1]
+        end
+    end
+    return ir
+end
+
 function statement_cost(ex::Expr, line::Int, src::CodeInfo, spvals::SimpleVector, slottypes::Vector{Any}, params::Params)
     head = ex.head
     if is_meta_expr_head(head)
@@ -304,6 +329,9 @@ function statement_cost(ex::Expr, line::Int, src::CodeInfo, spvals::SimpleVector
             elseif f === Main.Core.arrayref && length(ex.args) >= 3
                 atyp = argextype(ex.args[3], src, spvals, slottypes)
                 return isknowntype(atyp) ? 4 : params.inline_nonleaf_penalty
+            elseif f === Main.Core.arrayset && length(ex.args) >= 4
+                atyp = argextype(ex.args[3], src, spvals, slottypes)
+                return isknowntype(atyp) ? 4 : params.inline_nonleaf_penalty
             end
             fidx = find_tfunc(f)
             if fidx === nothing
@@ -314,14 +342,18 @@ function statement_cost(ex::Expr, line::Int, src::CodeInfo, spvals::SimpleVector
             return T_FFUNC_COST[fidx]
         end
         return params.inline_nonleaf_penalty
-    elseif head === :foreigncall || head === :invoke
-        # Calls whose "return type" is Union{} do not actually return:
-        # they are errors. Since these are not part of the typical
-        # run-time of the function, we omit them from
-        # consideration. This way, non-inlined error branches do not
-        # prevent inlining.
-        extyp = line == -1 ? Any : src.ssavaluetypes[line]
-        return extyp === Union{} ? 0 : 20
+    elseif head === :foreigncall
+        if isa(ex.args[1], QuoteNode)
+            sym = ex.args[1].value
+            for pr in T_CFUNC_COST
+                if sym === pr[1]
+                    return pr[2]
+                end
+            end
+        end
+        return 20
+    elseif head === :invoke
+        return 20
     elseif head === :return
         a = ex.args[1]
         if a isa Expr
@@ -360,6 +392,7 @@ end
 function inline_worthy(body::Array{Any,1}, src::CodeInfo, spvals::SimpleVector, slottypes::Vector{Any},
                        params::Params, cost_threshold::Integer=params.inline_cost_threshold)
     bodycost::Int = 0
+    lnr = lines_return(body)
     for line = 1:length(body)
         stmt = body[line]
         if stmt isa Expr
@@ -372,6 +405,7 @@ function inline_worthy(body::Array{Any,1}, src::CodeInfo, spvals::SimpleVector,
         else
             continue
         end
+        lnr[line] || continue  # only count lines that are not on error paths
         bodycost = plus_saturate(bodycost, thiscost)
         bodycost > cost_threshold && return false
     end
diff --git a/base/compiler/tfuncs.jl b/base/compiler/tfuncs.jl
index c33259f64dde7..d73791869d095 100644
--- a/base/compiler/tfuncs.jl
+++ b/base/compiler/tfuncs.jl
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const T_IFUNC_COST = Vector{Int}(undef, N_IFUNC)
 const T_FFUNC_KEY = Vector{Any}()
 const T_FFUNC_VAL = Vector{Tuple{Int, Int, Any}}()
 const T_FFUNC_COST = Vector{Int}()
+const T_CFUNC_COST = Vector{Tuple{Symbol, Int}}()  # for ccalls that get special-cased by the compiler
 function find_tfunc(@nospecialize f)
     for i = 1:length(T_FFUNC_KEY)
         if T_FFUNC_KEY[i] === f
@@ -37,6 +38,14 @@ const TYPENAME_NAME_FIELDINDEX = fieldindex(Core.TypeName, :name)
 const TYPENAME_MODULE_FIELDINDEX = fieldindex(Core.TypeName, :module)
 const TYPENAME_WRAPPER_FIELDINDEX = fieldindex(Core.TypeName, :wrapper)
 
+##########
+# ccalls #
+##########
+push!(T_CFUNC_COST, (:jl_array_ptr, 2))
+push!(T_CFUNC_COST, (:jl_value_ptr, 2))
+push!(T_CFUNC_COST, (:jl_array_isassigned, 5))
+push!(T_CFUNC_COST, (:jl_string_ptr, 2))
+
 ##########
 # tfuncs #
 ##########
diff --git a/base/compiler/utilities.jl b/base/compiler/utilities.jl
index 89f5c0b05fb52..19b0baa94c680 100644
--- a/base/compiler/utilities.jl
+++ b/base/compiler/utilities.jl
@@ -229,6 +229,20 @@ end
 # using a function to ensure we can infer this
 @inline slot_id(s) = isa(s, SlotNumber) ? (s::SlotNumber).id : (s::TypedSlot).id
 
+#####################
+# sparams/slottypes #
+#####################
+function get_params_slottypes(@nospecialize(f), @nospecialize(argtypes))
+    world = typemax(UInt)
+    params = Params(world)
+    match = _methods(f, argtypes, -1, world)[1]
+    mi = code_for_method(match[3], argtypes, match[2], world)
+    istate = InferenceState(InferenceResult(mi),
+                            retrieve_code_info(mi),
+                            false, params)
+    return istate.sp, istate.slottypes, params
+end
+
 ###########
 # options #
 ###########
diff --git a/doc/src/devdocs/inference.md b/doc/src/devdocs/inference.md
index df1f9082eb90e..68432baf48565 100644
--- a/doc/src/devdocs/inference.md
+++ b/doc/src/devdocs/inference.md
@@ -98,12 +98,10 @@ where `f` is your function and `tt` is the Tuple-type of the arguments:
 f = fill
 tt = Tuple{Float64, Tuple{Int,Int}}
 # Create the objects we need to interact with the compiler
-params = Core.Compiler.Params(typemax(UInt))
-mi = Base.method_instances(f, tt)[1]
+spvals, slottypes, params = Core.Compiler.get_params_slottypes(f, tt)
 ci = code_typed(f, tt)[1][1]
-opt = Core.Compiler.OptimizationState(mi, params)
 # Calculate cost of each statement
-cost(stmt::Expr) = Core.Compiler.statement_cost(stmt, -1, ci, opt.sp, opt.slottypes, opt.params)
+cost(stmt::Expr) = Core.Compiler.statement_cost(stmt, -1, ci, spvals, slottypes, params)
 cost(stmt) = 0
 cst = map(cost, ci.code)
 
@@ -120,3 +118,13 @@ cst = map(cost, ci.code)
 The output is a `Vector{Int}` holding the estimated cost of each
 statement in `ci.code`.  Note that `ci` includes the consequences of
 inlining callees, and consequently the costs do too.
+
+It's worth noting that `inline_worthy` does not count branches that do
+not return, which correspond to error-paths in the code.
+To determine which statements return, you can run
+
+```julia
+lnr = Core.Compiler.lines_return(ci.code)
+```
+
+and then `sum(cst .* lnr)` is the aggregate cost of the call used by `inline_worthy`.
diff --git a/doc/src/devdocs/ssair.md b/doc/src/devdocs/ssair.md
index 96476d02c05d8..3f7bada4aa0f7 100644
--- a/doc/src/devdocs/ssair.md
+++ b/doc/src/devdocs/ssair.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ form representation, but the lack of such a representation ultimately proved pro
 
 ## New IR nodes
 
-With the new IR representation, the compiler learned to handle four new IR nodes, Phi nodes, Pi
+With the new IR representation, the compiler learned to handle four new IR nodes: Phi nodes, Pi
 nodes as well as PhiC nodes and Upsilon nodes (the latter two are only used for exception handling).
 
 ### Phi nodes and Pi nodes
diff --git a/test/inline.jl b/test/inline.jl
index 47d770977f016..ce116b43d9eff 100644
--- a/test/inline.jl
+++ b/test/inline.jl
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # This file is a part of Julia. License is MIT: https://julialang.org/license
 
-using Test
+using Test, Random
 
 """
 Helper to walk the AST and call a function on every node.
@@ -217,3 +217,54 @@ function f_div(x, y)
     return x
 end
 @test length(code_typed(f_div, (Int, Int))[1][1].code) > 1
+
+# Marking of lines_return (inliner cost model)
+function _lines_return_test_(x, n)
+    if x == 1
+        y = rand()
+        error("expected $y, got $x")
+    end
+    s = 0.0
+    for i = 1:n
+        s += i*x
+    end
+    return s
+end
+
+@testset "lines_return" begin
+    ci = code_typed(_lines_return_test_, Tuple{Float64, Int})[1].first
+    ir = Core.Compiler.lines_return(ci.code)
+    i = 1
+    # Find a line related to `rand`
+    while !isa(ci.code[i], Expr) || ci.code[i].head != :invoke || ci.code[i].args[2] != GlobalRef(Random, :dsfmt_fill_array_close1_open2!)
+        i += 1
+    end
+    @test !ir[i]
+    # Find the call to `error`
+    while !isa(ci.code[i], Expr) || ci.code[i].head != :invoke || !isa(ci.code[i].args[2], GlobalRef) || ci.code[i].args[2].name != :error
+        i += 1
+    end
+    @test !ir[i]
+    # Skip past the :unreachable and check that the rest of the lines
+    # are on a returning branch
+    i += 2
+    while i <= length(ci.code)
+        @test ir[i]
+        i += 1
+    end
+end
+
+# cost assignment for arrayset and arrayref
+@testset "inlining cost for arrayref and arrayset" begin
+    f(a, b) = a[2] = b[1]
+    v = [1.0, 2.0]
+    tt = Tuple{typeof(v), typeof(v)}
+    # Create the objects we need to interact with the compiler
+    spvals, slottypes, params = Core.Compiler.get_params_slottypes(f, tt)
+    ci = code_typed(f, tt)[1][1]
+    # Calculate cost of each statement
+    cost(stmt::Expr) = Core.Compiler.statement_cost(stmt, -1, ci, spvals, slottypes, params)
+    cost(stmt) = 0
+    cst = map(cost, ci.code)
+    @test sum(cst) < 10
+end