diff --git a/daemon/containerd/image_push.go b/daemon/containerd/image_push.go
index 8688ade8090f2..4d519a22d350f 100644
--- a/daemon/containerd/image_push.go
+++ b/daemon/containerd/image_push.go
@@ -93,6 +93,9 @@ func (i *ImageService) pushRef(ctx context.Context, targetRef reference.Named, m
 
 	img, err := i.client.ImageService().Get(ctx, targetRef.String())
 	if err != nil {
+		if cerrdefs.IsNotFound(err) {
+			return errdefs.NotFound(fmt.Errorf("tag does not exist: %s", reference.FamiliarString(targetRef)))
+		}
 		return errdefs.NotFound(err)
 	}