diff --git a/git-rebase--interactive.sh b/git-rebase--interactive.sh
index f01637b1fd..d65c06eff3 100644
--- a/git-rebase--interactive.sh
+++ b/git-rebase--interactive.sh
@@ -729,8 +729,8 @@ transform_todo_ids () {
 			# that do not have a SHA-1 at the beginning of $rest.
 			;;
 		*)
-			sha1=$(git rev-parse --verify --quiet "$@" ${rest%% *}) &&
-			rest="$sha1 ${rest#* }"
+			sha1=$(git rev-parse --verify --quiet "$@" ${rest%%[	 ]*}) &&
+			rest="$sha1 ${rest#*[	 ]}"
 			;;
 		esac
 		printf '%s\n' "$command${rest:+ }$rest"
@@ -857,7 +857,8 @@ add_exec_commands () {
 # Check if the SHA-1 passed as an argument is a
 # correct one, if not then print $2 in "$todo".badsha
 # $1: the SHA-1 to test
-# $2: the line to display if incorrect SHA-1
+# $2: the line number of the input
+# $3: the input filename
 check_commit_sha () {
 	badsha=0
 	if test -z $1
@@ -873,9 +874,10 @@ check_commit_sha () {
 
 	if test $badsha -ne 0
 	then
+		line="$(sed -n -e "${2}p" "$3")"
 		warn "Warning: the SHA-1 is missing or isn't" \
 			"a commit in the following line:"
-		warn " - $2"
+		warn " - $line"
 		warn
 	fi
 
@@ -886,37 +888,31 @@ check_commit_sha () {
 # from the todolist in stdin
 check_bad_cmd_and_sha () {
 	retval=0
-	git stripspace --strip-comments |
-	(
-		while read -r line
-		do
-			IFS=' '
-			set -- $line
-			command=$1
-			sha1=$2
-
-			case $command in
-			''|noop|x|"exec")
-				# Doesn't expect a SHA-1
-				;;
-			pick|p|drop|d|reword|r|edit|e|squash|s|fixup|f)
-				if ! check_commit_sha $sha1 "$line"
-				then
-					retval=1
-				fi
-				;;
-			*)
-				warn "Warning: the command isn't recognized" \
-					"in the following line:"
-				warn " - $line"
-				warn
+	lineno=0
+	while read -r command rest
+	do
+		lineno=$(( $lineno + 1 ))
+		case $command in
+		"$comment_char"*|''|noop|x|exec)
+			# Doesn't expect a SHA-1
+			;;
+		pick|p|drop|d|reword|r|edit|e|squash|s|fixup|f)
+			if ! check_commit_sha "${rest%%[ 	]*}" "$lineno" "$1"
+			then
 				retval=1
-				;;
-			esac
-		done
-
-		return $retval
-	)
+			fi
+			;;
+		*)
+			line="$(sed -n -e "${lineno}p" "$1")"
+			warn "Warning: the command isn't recognized" \
+				"in the following line:"
+			warn " - $line"
+			warn
+			retval=1
+			;;
+		esac
+	done <"$1"
+	return $retval
 }
 
 # Print the list of the SHA-1 of the commits
@@ -1010,7 +1006,7 @@ check_todo_list () {
 		;;
 	esac
 
-	if ! check_bad_cmd_and_sha <"$todo"
+	if ! check_bad_cmd_and_sha "$todo"
 	then
 		raise_error=t
 	fi
diff --git a/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh b/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh
index d26e3f57dc..3de0b1dcfd 100755
--- a/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh
+++ b/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh
@@ -1227,6 +1227,21 @@ test_expect_success 'static check of bad command' '
 	test C = $(git cat-file commit HEAD^ | sed -ne \$p)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'tabs and spaces are accepted in the todolist' '
+	rebase_setup_and_clean indented-comment &&
+	write_script add-indent.sh <<-\EOF &&
+	(
+		# Turn single spaces into space/tab mix
+		sed "1s/ /	/g; 2s/ /  /g; 3s/ / 	/g" "$1"
+		printf "\n\t# comment\n #more\n\t # comment\n"
+	) >$1.new
+	mv "$1.new" "$1"
+	EOF
+	test_set_editor "$(pwd)/add-indent.sh" &&
+	git rebase -i HEAD^^^ &&
+	test E = $(git cat-file commit HEAD | sed -ne \$p)
+'
+
 cat >expect <<EOF
 Warning: the SHA-1 is missing or isn't a commit in the following line:
  - edit XXXXXXX False commit