diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 560c008..40510c9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -695,12 +695,12 @@ gitea:
 
 ### Image
 
-| Parameter          | Description                                                                               | Default       |
-| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- |
-| `image.repository` | Image to start for this pod                                                               | `gitea/gitea` |
-| `image.tag`        | [Image tag](https://hub.docker.com/r/gitea/gitea/tags?page=1&ordering=last_updated)       | `1.16.2`      |
-| `image.pullPolicy` | Image pull policy                                                                         | `Always`      |
-| `image.rootless`   | Wether or not to pull the rootless version of Gitea, only works on Gitea 1.14.x or higher | `false`       |
+| Parameter          | Description                                                                               | Default                            |
+| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
+| `image.repository` | Image to start for this pod                                                               | `gitea/gitea`                      |
+| `image.tag`        | [Image tag](https://hub.docker.com/r/gitea/gitea/tags?page=1&ordering=last_updated)       | see [Chart.AppVersion](Chart.yaml) |
+| `image.pullPolicy` | Image pull policy                                                                         | `Always`                           |
+| `image.rootless`   | Wether or not to pull the rootless version of Gitea, only works on Gitea 1.14.x or higher | `false`                            |
 
 ### Persistence
 
diff --git a/templates/_helpers.tpl b/templates/_helpers.tpl
index e7d98ea..40471ee 100644
--- a/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Create image name and tag used by the deployment.
 */}}
 {{- define "gitea.image" -}}
 {{- $name := .Values.image.repository -}}
-{{- $tag := ternary .Values.image.version .Values.image.tag (hasKey .Values.image "version") -}}
+{{- $tag := .Values.image.tag | default .Chart.AppVersion -}}
 {{- $rootless := ternary "-rootless" "" (.Values.image.rootless) -}}
 {{- printf "%s:%s%s" $name $tag $rootless -}}
 {{- end -}}
@@ -48,10 +48,8 @@ Common labels
 helm.sh/chart: {{ include "gitea.chart" . }}
 app: {{ include "gitea.name" . }}
 {{ include "gitea.selectorLabels" . }}
-{{- if .Chart.AppVersion }}
-app.kubernetes.io/version: {{ .Chart.AppVersion | quote }}
-version: {{ .Chart.AppVersion | quote }}
-{{- end }}
+app.kubernetes.io/version: {{ .Values.image.tag | default .Chart.AppVersion | quote }}
+version: {{ .Values.image.tag | default .Chart.AppVersion | quote }}
 app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: {{ .Release.Service }}
 {{- end -}}
 
diff --git a/values.yaml b/values.yaml
index 55dc82a..702e4d5 100644
--- a/values.yaml
+++ b/values.yaml
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ clusterDomain: cluster.local
 
 image:
   repository: gitea/gitea
-  tag: 1.16.2
+  # Overrides the image tag whose default is the chart appVersion.
+  tag: ""
   pullPolicy: Always
   rootless: false # only possible when running 1.14 or later