diff --git a/block/qcow2.c b/block/qcow2.c
index e742e02..7ef9170 100644
--- a/block/qcow2.c
+++ b/block/qcow2.c
@@ -1616,6 +1616,7 @@ static int qcow2_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options)
                 return hash_algo;
             }
             dedup = true;
+            flags |= BLOCK_FLAG_LAZY_REFCOUNTS;
         }
         options++;
     }