diff --git a/internal/services/compute/windows_virtual_machine_resource.go b/internal/services/compute/windows_virtual_machine_resource.go
index b25d7f015d55..1dd8144477e1 100644
--- a/internal/services/compute/windows_virtual_machine_resource.go
+++ b/internal/services/compute/windows_virtual_machine_resource.go
@@ -292,6 +292,7 @@ func resourceWindowsVirtualMachine() *pluginsdk.Resource {
 			"timezone": {
 				Type:         pluginsdk.TypeString,
 				Optional:     true,
+				ForceNew:     true,
 				ValidateFunc: computeValidate.VirtualMachineTimeZone(),
 			},
 
diff --git a/website/docs/r/windows_virtual_machine.html.markdown b/website/docs/r/windows_virtual_machine.html.markdown
index 9c774163f2a5..da3184384605 100644
--- a/website/docs/r/windows_virtual_machine.html.markdown
+++ b/website/docs/r/windows_virtual_machine.html.markdown
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 
 * `termination_notification` - (Optional) A `termination_notification` block as defined below.
 
-* `timezone` - (Optional) Specifies the Time Zone which should be used by the Virtual Machine, [the possible values are defined here](https://jackstromberg.com/2017/01/list-of-time-zones-consumed-by-azure/).
+* `timezone` - (Optional) Specifies the Time Zone which should be used by the Virtual Machine, [the possible values are defined here](https://jackstromberg.com/2017/01/list-of-time-zones-consumed-by-azure/). Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 * `user_data` - (Optional) The Base64-Encoded User Data which should be used for this Virtual Machine.