diff --git a/src/gpu/vulkan/SDL_gpu_vulkan.c b/src/gpu/vulkan/SDL_gpu_vulkan.c
index 6d5833b1b8..e8b39f1a73 100644
--- a/src/gpu/vulkan/SDL_gpu_vulkan.c
+++ b/src/gpu/vulkan/SDL_gpu_vulkan.c
@@ -2452,6 +2452,11 @@ static void VULKAN_INTERNAL_TrackTextureTransfer(
     VulkanCommandBuffer *commandBuffer,
     VulkanTexture *texture)
 {
+    // Textures not managed by our allocator (i.e. the swapchain) don't need to be refcounted.
+    if (texture->usedRegion == NULL) {
+        return;
+    }
+
     TRACK_RESOURCE(
         texture,
         VulkanTexture *,