diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/testrunner.py b/tests/qemu-iotests/testrunner.py
index 5a771da86e..e734800b3d 100644
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/testrunner.py
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/testrunner.py
@@ -391,6 +391,7 @@ def run_tests(self, tests: List[str], jobs: int = 1) -> bool:
         casenotrun = []
 
         if self.tap:
+            print('TAP version 13')
             self.env.print_env('# ')
             print('1..%d' % len(tests))
         else: