diff --git a/mm/filemap.c b/mm/filemap.c
index 82f3b9a3a940..d5462d706f76 100644
--- a/mm/filemap.c
+++ b/mm/filemap.c
@@ -618,10 +618,13 @@ int filemap_fdatawait_keep_errors(struct address_space *mapping)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(filemap_fdatawait_keep_errors);
 
+/* Returns true if writeback might be needed or already in progress. */
 static bool mapping_needs_writeback(struct address_space *mapping)
 {
-	return (!dax_mapping(mapping) && mapping->nrpages) ||
-	    (dax_mapping(mapping) && mapping->nrexceptional);
+	if (dax_mapping(mapping))
+		return mapping->nrexceptional;
+
+	return mapping->nrpages;
 }
 
 int filemap_write_and_wait(struct address_space *mapping)