diff --git a/application/templates/_helpers.tpl b/application/templates/_helpers.tpl
index 48f1ef03..48f8166d 100644
--- a/application/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/application/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ Define the name of the chart/application.
 Define the name of the chart/application.
 */}}
 {{- define "application.version" -}}
-{{ regexReplaceAll "[^a-zA-Z0-9_\\.\\-]" .Values.deployment.image.tag "-" | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" -}}
+  {{- $version := default "" .Values.deployment.image.tag -}}
+  {{- regexReplaceAll "[^a-zA-Z0-9_\\.\\-]" $version "-" | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" -}}
 {{- end -}}
 
 {{/*
@@ -39,8 +40,8 @@ Common labels
 */}}
 {{- define "application.labels" -}}
 helm.sh/chart: {{ include "application.chart" . }}
-{{- if .Values.deployment.image.tag }}
-app.kubernetes.io/version: {{ include "application.version" . | quote }}
+{{- with include "application.version" . }}
+app.kubernetes.io/version: {{ quote . }}
 {{- end }}
 app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: {{ .Release.Service }}
 app.kubernetes.io/part-of: {{ include "application.name" . }}
diff --git a/application/tests/deployment_test.yaml b/application/tests/deployment_test.yaml
index 1c368a35..c98cae84 100644
--- a/application/tests/deployment_test.yaml
+++ b/application/tests/deployment_test.yaml
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ tests:
       - equal:
           path: spec.template.spec.containers[0].image
           value: example-image:example-tag
+      - equal:
+          path: metadata.labels["app.kubernetes.io/version"]
+          value: example-tag
 
   - it: uses image digest when given
     set:
@@ -60,6 +63,8 @@ tests:
       - equal:
           path: spec.template.spec.containers[0].image
           value: example-image@sha256:example-digest
+      - isNull:
+          path: metadata.labels["app.kubernetes.io/version"]
 
   - it: uses both image digest and tag when given both
     set: