diff --git a/fsck.c b/fsck.c
index 9c3a5942d2..69d0049e4d 100644
--- a/fsck.c
+++ b/fsck.c
@@ -987,6 +987,8 @@ int fsck_tag_standalone(const struct object_id *oid, const char *buffer,
 	}
 	else
 		ret = fsck_ident(&buffer, oid, OBJ_TAG, options);
+	if (!*buffer)
+		goto done;
 
 	if (!starts_with(buffer, "\n")) {
 		/*
diff --git a/t/t3800-mktag.sh b/t/t3800-mktag.sh
index 929bb9f492..1fd97def33 100755
--- a/t/t3800-mktag.sh
+++ b/t/t3800-mktag.sh
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ tagger T A Gger <tagger@example.com> 1206478233 -0500
 
 EOF
 
-test_expect_mktag_success 'require a blank line before an empty body (1)'
+test_expect_mktag_success 'allow a blank line before an empty body (1)'
 
 cat >tag.sig <<EOF
 object $head
@@ -455,8 +455,7 @@ tag mytag
 tagger T A Gger <tagger@example.com> 1206478233 -0500
 EOF
 
-check_verify_failure 'require a blank line before an empty body (2)' \
-	'^error:.* extraHeaderEntry:'
+test_expect_mktag_success 'allow no blank line before an empty body (2)'
 
 ############################################################
 # 24. create valid tag
@@ -466,7 +465,6 @@ object $head
 type commit
 tag mytag
 tagger T A Gger <tagger@example.com> 1206478233 -0500
-
 EOF
 
 test_expect_mktag_success 'create valid tag object'