diff --git a/src/encoding/json/scanner_test.go b/src/encoding/json/scanner_test.go
index fb64463599..a062e91243 100644
--- a/src/encoding/json/scanner_test.go
+++ b/src/encoding/json/scanner_test.go
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ func TestCompactAndIndent(t *testing.T) {
 	-5e+2
 ]`},
 		{Name(""), "{\"\":\"<>&\u2028\u2029\"}", "{\n\t\"\": \"<>&\u2028\u2029\"\n}"}, // See golang.org/issue/34070
+		{Name(""), `null`, "null \n\r\t"},                                             // See golang.org/issue/13520 and golang.org/issue/74806
 	}
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	for _, tt := range tests {
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ func TestCompactAndIndent(t *testing.T) {
 			buf.Reset()
 			if err := Indent(&buf, []byte(tt.compact), "", "\t"); err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("%s: Indent error: %v", tt.Where, err)
-			} else if got := buf.String(); got != tt.indent {
+			} else if got := buf.String(); got != strings.TrimRight(tt.indent, " \n\r\t") {
 				t.Errorf("%s: Compact:\n\tgot:  %s\n\twant: %s", tt.Where, indentNewlines(got), indentNewlines(tt.indent))
 			}
 		})
diff --git a/src/encoding/json/v2_indent.go b/src/encoding/json/v2_indent.go
index 2655942b12..b2e8518471 100644
--- a/src/encoding/json/v2_indent.go
+++ b/src/encoding/json/v2_indent.go
@@ -88,17 +88,8 @@ func Indent(dst *bytes.Buffer, src []byte, prefix, indent string) error {
 }
 
 func appendIndent(dst, src []byte, prefix, indent string) ([]byte, error) {
-	// In v2, trailing whitespace is discarded, while v1 preserved it.
-	dstLen := len(dst)
-	if n := len(src) - len(bytes.TrimRight(src, " \n\r\t")); n > 0 {
-		// Append the trailing whitespace afterwards.
-		defer func() {
-			if len(dst) > dstLen {
-				dst = append(dst, src[len(src)-n:]...)
-			}
-		}()
-	}
 	// In v2, only spaces and tabs are allowed, while v1 allowed any character.
+	dstLen := len(dst)
 	if len(strings.Trim(prefix, " \t"))+len(strings.Trim(indent, " \t")) > 0 {
 		// Use placeholder spaces of correct length, and replace afterwards.
 		invalidPrefix, invalidIndent := prefix, indent
@@ -129,5 +120,10 @@ func appendIndent(dst, src []byte, prefix, indent string) ([]byte, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return dst[:dstLen], transformSyntacticError(err)
 	}
+
+	// In v2, trailing whitespace is discarded, while v1 preserved it.
+	if n := len(src) - len(bytes.TrimRight(src, " \n\r\t")); n > 0 {
+		dst = append(dst, src[len(src)-n:]...)
+	}
 	return dst, nil
 }
diff --git a/src/encoding/json/v2_scanner_test.go b/src/encoding/json/v2_scanner_test.go
index bec5521274..8885520e6d 100644
--- a/src/encoding/json/v2_scanner_test.go
+++ b/src/encoding/json/v2_scanner_test.go
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ func TestCompactAndIndent(t *testing.T) {
 	-5e+2
 ]`},
 		{Name(""), "{\"\":\"<>&\u2028\u2029\"}", "{\n\t\"\": \"<>&\u2028\u2029\"\n}"}, // See golang.org/issue/34070
+		{Name(""), `null`, "null \n\r\t"},                                             // See golang.org/issue/13520 and golang.org/issue/74806
 	}
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	for _, tt := range tests {
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ func TestCompactAndIndent(t *testing.T) {
 			buf.Reset()
 			if err := Indent(&buf, []byte(tt.compact), "", "\t"); err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("%s: Indent error: %v", tt.Where, err)
-			} else if got := buf.String(); got != tt.indent {
+			} else if got := buf.String(); got != strings.TrimRight(tt.indent, " \n\r\t") {
 				t.Errorf("%s: Compact:\n\tgot:  %s\n\twant: %s", tt.Where, indentNewlines(got), indentNewlines(tt.indent))
 			}
 		})