diff --git a/R/plot-render.R b/R/plot-render.R
index 4492b16c68..5016ef6e20 100644
--- a/R/plot-render.R
+++ b/R/plot-render.R
@@ -279,6 +279,7 @@ table_add_tag <- function(table, label, theme) {
   if (location %in% c("plot", "panel")) {
     if (!is.numeric(position)) {
       hjust <- try_prop(element, "hjust", default = 0.5)
+      vjust <- try_prop(element, "vjust", default = 0.5)
       if (right || left) {
         x <- (1 - hjust) * width
         if (right) {
@@ -288,7 +289,6 @@ table_add_tag <- function(table, label, theme) {
         x <- unit(hjust, "npc")
       }
       if (top || bottom) {
-        vjust <- try_prop(element, "vjust", default = 0.5)
         y <- (1 - vjust) * height
         if (top) {
           y <- unit(1, "npc") - y
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-labels.R b/tests/testthat/test-labels.R
index d7eb22ba40..dfd933a62b 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-labels.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-labels.R
@@ -140,6 +140,23 @@ test_that("plot.tag.position rejects invalid input", {
 
 })
 
+test_that("left and right plot tags can be rendered inside plot regions", {
+  p <- ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, disp)) + geom_point() + labs(tag = "Fig. A)")
+
+  for (position in c("left", "right")) {
+    for (location in c("plot", "panel")) {
+      expect_no_error(
+        ggplotGrob(
+          p + theme(
+            plot.tag.position = position,
+            plot.tag.location = location
+          )
+        )
+      )
+    }
+  }
+})
+
 test_that("position axis label hierarchy works as intended", {
   df <- data_frame(foo = c(1e1, 1e5), bar = c(0, 100))