diff --git a/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160.h b/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160.h
index a82e040bd109..32c2ea2d7112 100644
--- a/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160.h
+++ b/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160.h
@@ -10,6 +10,13 @@ struct bmi160_data {
 	struct iio_trigger *trig;
 	struct regulator_bulk_data supplies[2];
 	struct iio_mount_matrix orientation;
+	/*
+	 * Ensure natural alignment for timestamp if present.
+	 * Max length needed: 2 * 3 channels + 4 bytes padding + 8 byte ts.
+	 * If fewer channels are enabled, less space may be needed, as
+	 * long as the timestamp is still aligned to 8 bytes.
+	 */
+	__le16 buf[12] __aligned(8);
 };
 
 extern const struct regmap_config bmi160_regmap_config;
diff --git a/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160_core.c b/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160_core.c
index c8e131c29043..290b5ef83f77 100644
--- a/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160_core.c
+++ b/drivers/iio/imu/bmi160/bmi160_core.c
@@ -427,8 +427,6 @@ static irqreturn_t bmi160_trigger_handler(int irq, void *p)
 	struct iio_poll_func *pf = p;
 	struct iio_dev *indio_dev = pf->indio_dev;
 	struct bmi160_data *data = iio_priv(indio_dev);
-	__le16 buf[12];
-	/* 2 sens x 3 axis x __le16 + 2 x __le16 pad + 4 x __le16 tstamp */
 	int i, ret, j = 0, base = BMI160_REG_DATA_MAGN_XOUT_L;
 	__le16 sample;
 
@@ -438,10 +436,10 @@ static irqreturn_t bmi160_trigger_handler(int irq, void *p)
 				       &sample, sizeof(sample));
 		if (ret)
 			goto done;
-		buf[j++] = sample;
+		data->buf[j++] = sample;
 	}
 
-	iio_push_to_buffers_with_timestamp(indio_dev, buf, pf->timestamp);
+	iio_push_to_buffers_with_timestamp(indio_dev, data->buf, pf->timestamp);
 done:
 	iio_trigger_notify_done(indio_dev->trig);
 	return IRQ_HANDLED;