diff --git a/compat/src/forwardRef.js b/compat/src/forwardRef.js
index 35105eadc5..25791285b9 100644
--- a/compat/src/forwardRef.js
+++ b/compat/src/forwardRef.js
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { options } from 'preact';
+import { assign } from './util';
 
 let oldDiffHook = options._diff;
 options._diff = vnode => {
@@ -24,13 +25,9 @@ export const REACT_FORWARD_SYMBOL =
  */
 export function forwardRef(fn) {
 	function Forwarded(props) {
-		if (!('ref' in props)) return fn(props, null);
-
-		let ref = props.ref;
-		delete props.ref;
-		const result = fn(props, ref);
-		props.ref = ref;
-		return result;
+		let clone = assign({}, props);
+		delete clone.ref;
+		return fn(clone, props.ref || null);
 	}
 
 	// mobx-react checks for this being present
diff --git a/jsx-runtime/src/index.js b/jsx-runtime/src/index.js
index 6f20acd42f..6bf06a06ec 100644
--- a/jsx-runtime/src/index.js
+++ b/jsx-runtime/src/index.js
@@ -35,9 +35,15 @@ function createVNode(type, props, key, isStaticChildren, __source, __self) {
 		ref,
 		i;
 
-	if ('ref' in props) {
-		ref = props.ref;
-		delete props.ref;
+	if ('ref' in normalizedProps) {
+		normalizedProps = {};
+		for (i in props) {
+			if (i == 'ref') {
+				ref = props[i];
+			} else {
+				normalizedProps[i] = props[i];
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
 	/** @type {VNode & { __source: any; __self: any }} */
diff --git a/jsx-runtime/test/browser/jsx-runtime.test.js b/jsx-runtime/test/browser/jsx-runtime.test.js
index c3b338d2db..ac678ce477 100644
--- a/jsx-runtime/test/browser/jsx-runtime.test.js
+++ b/jsx-runtime/test/browser/jsx-runtime.test.js
@@ -37,8 +37,7 @@ describe('Babel jsx/jsxDEV', () => {
 		const props = { ref };
 		const vnode = jsx('div', props);
 		expect(vnode.ref).to.equal(ref);
-		expect(vnode.props).to.equal(props);
-		expect(vnode.props.ref).to.equal(undefined);
+		expect(vnode.props).to.not.equal(props);
 	});
 
 	it('should not copy props wen there is no ref in props', () => {