diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 841782c859..90a1067971 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -353,6 +353,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	const char *name;
 	pid_t pid;
 	int daemonized = 0;
+	timestamp_t dummy;
 
 	struct option builtin_gc_options[] = {
 		OPT__QUIET(&quiet, N_("suppress progress reporting")),
@@ -388,6 +389,9 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (argc > 0)
 		usage_with_options(builtin_gc_usage, builtin_gc_options);
 
+	if (prune_expire && parse_expiry_date(prune_expire, &dummy))
+		die(_("failed to parse prune expiry value %s"), prune_expire);
+
 	if (aggressive) {
 		argv_array_push(&repack, "-f");
 		if (aggressive_depth > 0)
diff --git a/parse-options-cb.c b/parse-options-cb.c
index c6679cb2cd..0f9f311a7a 100644
--- a/parse-options-cb.c
+++ b/parse-options-cb.c
@@ -38,7 +38,11 @@ int parse_opt_approxidate_cb(const struct option *opt, const char *arg,
 int parse_opt_expiry_date_cb(const struct option *opt, const char *arg,
 			     int unset)
 {
-	return parse_expiry_date(arg, (timestamp_t *)opt->value);
+	if (unset)
+		arg = "never";
+	if (parse_expiry_date(arg, (timestamp_t *)opt->value))
+		die(_("malformed expiration date '%s'"), arg);
+	return 0;
 }
 
 int parse_opt_color_flag_cb(const struct option *opt, const char *arg,
diff --git a/t/t5304-prune.sh b/t/t5304-prune.sh
index 6694c19a1e..af69cdc112 100755
--- a/t/t5304-prune.sh
+++ b/t/t5304-prune.sh
@@ -320,4 +320,14 @@ test_expect_success 'prune: handle HEAD reflog in multiple worktrees' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'prune: handle expire option correctly' '
+	test_must_fail git prune --expire 2>error &&
+	test_i18ngrep "requires a value" error &&
+
+	test_must_fail git prune --expire=nyah 2>error &&
+	test_i18ngrep "malformed expiration" error &&
+
+	git prune --no-expire
+'
+
 test_done