diff --git a/kernel/timeout.c b/kernel/timeout.c
index eb1418000ff..523a7a47c48 100644
--- a/kernel/timeout.c
+++ b/kernel/timeout.c
@@ -86,6 +86,10 @@ static s32_t next_timeout(void)
 void z_add_timeout(struct _timeout *to, _timeout_func_t fn,
 		   k_timeout_t timeout)
 {
+	if (K_TIMEOUT_EQ(timeout, K_FOREVER)) {
+		return;
+	}
+
 #ifdef CONFIG_LEGACY_TIMEOUT_API
 	k_ticks_t ticks = timeout;
 #else