diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index feeed6f932..5db1034734 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3171,6 +3171,7 @@ GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS: FORCE
 	@echo PYTHON_PATH=\''$(subst ','\'',$(PYTHON_PATH_SQ))'\' >>$@+
 	@echo TAR=\''$(subst ','\'',$(subst ','\'',$(TAR)))'\' >>$@+
 	@echo NO_CURL=\''$(subst ','\'',$(subst ','\'',$(NO_CURL)))'\' >>$@+
+	@echo NO_ICONV=\''$(subst ','\'',$(subst ','\'',$(NO_ICONV)))'\' >>$@+
 	@echo NO_EXPAT=\''$(subst ','\'',$(subst ','\'',$(NO_EXPAT)))'\' >>$@+
 	@echo USE_LIBPCRE2=\''$(subst ','\'',$(subst ','\'',$(USE_LIBPCRE2)))'\' >>$@+
 	@echo NO_PERL=\''$(subst ','\'',$(subst ','\'',$(NO_PERL)))'\' >>$@+
diff --git a/contrib/buildsystems/CMakeLists.txt b/contrib/buildsystems/CMakeLists.txt
index 62af7b33d2..1384c0eb6d 100644
--- a/contrib/buildsystems/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/contrib/buildsystems/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1109,6 +1109,7 @@ set(DIFF diff)
 set(PYTHON_PATH /usr/bin/python)
 set(TAR tar)
 set(NO_CURL )
+set(NO_ICONV )
 set(NO_EXPAT )
 set(USE_LIBPCRE2 )
 set(NO_PERL )
@@ -1122,6 +1123,10 @@ if(NOT CURL_FOUND)
 	set(NO_CURL 1)
 endif()
 
+if(NOT Iconv_FOUND)
+	SET(NO_ICONV 1)
+endif()
+
 if(NOT EXPAT_FOUND)
 	set(NO_EXPAT 1)
 endif()
@@ -1145,6 +1150,7 @@ file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "DIFF='${DIFF}'\n")
 file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "PYTHON_PATH='${PYTHON_PATH}'\n")
 file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "TAR='${TAR}'\n")
 file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "NO_CURL='${NO_CURL}'\n")
+file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "NO_ICONV='${NO_ICONV}'\n")
 file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "NO_EXPAT='${NO_EXPAT}'\n")
 file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "NO_PERL='${NO_PERL}'\n")
 file(APPEND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/GIT-BUILD-OPTIONS "NO_PTHREADS='${NO_PTHREADS}'\n")
diff --git a/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh b/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh
index ad151a3467..510da4ca12 100755
--- a/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh
+++ b/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,12 @@ TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 
 GIT_TRACE_WORKING_TREE_ENCODING=1 && export GIT_TRACE_WORKING_TREE_ENCODING
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping working tree encoding tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 test_expect_success 'setup test files' '
 	git config core.eol lf &&
 
diff --git a/t/t2082-parallel-checkout-attributes.sh b/t/t2082-parallel-checkout-attributes.sh
index aec55496eb..a040aa54ce 100755
--- a/t/t2082-parallel-checkout-attributes.sh
+++ b/t/t2082-parallel-checkout-attributes.sh
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ test_expect_success 'parallel-checkout with ident' '
 	)
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'parallel-checkout with re-encoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'parallel-checkout with re-encoding' '
 	set_checkout_config 2 0 &&
 	git init encoding &&
 	(
diff --git a/t/t3434-rebase-i18n.sh b/t/t3434-rebase-i18n.sh
index 26a48d6b10..97fc9a23f2 100755
--- a/t/t3434-rebase-i18n.sh
+++ b/t/t3434-rebase-i18n.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping rebase i18n tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 compare_msg () {
 	iconv -f "$2" -t "$3" "$TEST_DIRECTORY/t3434/$1" >expect &&
 	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
diff --git a/t/t3900-i18n-commit.sh b/t/t3900-i18n-commit.sh
index db7b403bc1..9d4b5ab1f9 100755
--- a/t/t3900-i18n-commit.sh
+++ b/t/t3900-i18n-commit.sh
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@ test_description='commit and log output encodings'
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping commit i18n tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 compare_with () {
 	git show -s $1 | sed -e '1,/^$/d' -e 's/^    //' >current &&
 	case "$3" in
diff --git a/t/t3901-i18n-patch.sh b/t/t3901-i18n-patch.sh
index 5f0b9afc3f..e0659c9293 100755
--- a/t/t3901-i18n-patch.sh
+++ b/t/t3901-i18n-patch.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@ export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping patch i18n tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 check_encoding () {
 	# Make sure characters are not corrupted
 	cnt="$1" header="$2" i=1 j=0
diff --git a/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh b/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh
index 8fc40e75eb..aa149e0085 100755
--- a/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh
+++ b/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh
@@ -15,12 +15,18 @@ export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
-# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
-test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+# Test non-UTF-8 encoding in case iconv is available.
+if test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+	# String "added" in German (translated with Google Translate), encoded in UTF-8,
+	# used in sample commit log messages in add_file() function below.
+	added=$(printf "hinzugef\303\274gt")
+else
+	test_encoding="UTF-8"
+	added="added"
+fi
 
-# String "added" in German (translated with Google Translate), encoded in UTF-8,
-# used in sample commit log messages in add_file() function below.
-added=$(printf "hinzugef\303\274gt")
 add_file () {
 	(
 		cd "$1" &&
diff --git a/t/t4059-diff-submodule-not-initialized.sh b/t/t4059-diff-submodule-not-initialized.sh
index 668f526303..28fd3cdb15 100755
--- a/t/t4059-diff-submodule-not-initialized.sh
+++ b/t/t4059-diff-submodule-not-initialized.sh
@@ -12,12 +12,18 @@ initialized previously but the checkout has since been removed.
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
-# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
-test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
 
-# String "added" in German (translated with Google Translate), encoded in UTF-8,
-# used in sample commit log messages in add_file() function below.
-added=$(printf "hinzugef\303\274gt")
+# Test non-UTF-8 encoding in case iconv is available.
+if test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+	# String "added" in German (translated with Google Translate), encoded in UTF-8,
+	# used in sample commit log messages in add_file() function below.
+	added=$(printf "hinzugef\303\274gt")
+else
+	test_encoding="UTF-8"
+	added="added"
+fi
 
 add_file () {
 	(
diff --git a/t/t4060-diff-submodule-option-diff-format.sh b/t/t4060-diff-submodule-option-diff-format.sh
index 8ce67442d9..918334fa4c 100755
--- a/t/t4060-diff-submodule-option-diff-format.sh
+++ b/t/t4060-diff-submodule-option-diff-format.sh
@@ -13,12 +13,17 @@ This test tries to verify the sanity of --submodule=diff option of git diff.
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
-# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
-test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
-
-# String "added" in German (translated with Google Translate), encoded in UTF-8,
-# used in sample commit log messages in add_file() function below.
-added=$(printf "hinzugef\303\274gt")
+# Test non-UTF-8 encoding in case iconv is available.
+if test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+	# String "added" in German (translated with Google Translate), encoded in UTF-8,
+	# used in sample commit log messages in add_file() function below.
+	added=$(printf "hinzugef\303\274gt")
+else
+	test_encoding="UTF-8"
+	added="added"
+fi
 
 add_file () {
 	(
diff --git a/t/t4201-shortlog.sh b/t/t4201-shortlog.sh
index c20c885724..0ecb0597c9 100755
--- a/t/t4201-shortlog.sh
+++ b/t/t4201-shortlog.sh
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ test_expect_success 'output from user-defined format is re-wrapped' '
 	test_cmp expect log.predictable
 '
 
-test_expect_success !MINGW 'shortlog wrapping' '
+test_expect_success !MINGW,ICONV 'shortlog wrapping' '
 	cat >expect <<\EOF &&
 A U Thor (5):
       Test
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ EOF
 	test_cmp expect out
 '
 
-test_expect_success !MINGW 'shortlog from non-git directory' '
+test_expect_success !MINGW,ICONV 'shortlog from non-git directory' '
 	git log --no-expand-tabs HEAD >log &&
 	GIT_DIR=non-existing git shortlog -w <log >out &&
 	test_cmp expect out
 '
 
-test_expect_success !MINGW 'shortlog can read --format=raw output' '
+test_expect_success !MINGW,ICONV 'shortlog can read --format=raw output' '
 	git log --format=raw HEAD >log &&
 	GIT_DIR=non-existing git shortlog -w <log >out &&
 	test_cmp expect out
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ $DSCHO (2):
 
 EOF
 
-test_expect_success !MINGW 'shortlog encoding' '
+test_expect_success !MINGW,ICONV 'shortlog encoding' '
 	git reset --hard "$commit" &&
 	git config --unset i18n.commitencoding &&
 	echo 2 > a1 &&
diff --git a/t/t4205-log-pretty-formats.sh b/t/t4205-log-pretty-formats.sh
index eb63ce011f..dbbd612551 100755
--- a/t/t4205-log-pretty-formats.sh
+++ b/t/t4205-log-pretty-formats.sh
@@ -114,19 +114,19 @@ test_expect_success 'alias loop' '
 	test_must_fail git log --pretty=test-foo
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'NUL separation' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'NUL separation' '
 	printf "add bar\0$(commit_msg)" >expected &&
 	git log -z --pretty="format:%s" >actual &&
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'NUL termination' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'NUL termination' '
 	printf "add bar\0$(commit_msg)\0" >expected &&
 	git log -z --pretty="tformat:%s" >actual &&
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'NUL separation with --stat' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'NUL separation with --stat' '
 	stat0_part=$(git diff --stat HEAD^ HEAD) &&
 	stat1_part=$(git diff-tree --no-commit-id --stat --root HEAD^) &&
 	printf "add bar\n$stat0_part\n\0$(commit_msg)\n$stat1_part\n" >expected &&
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup more commits' '
 	head4=$(git rev-parse --verify --short HEAD~3)
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%<(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	message two                            Z
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%<(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	message two                            Z
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting at the nth column' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%h %<|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	$head1 message two                    Z
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting at the nth column' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	COLUMNS=50 git log --pretty="tformat:%h %<|(-10)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	$head1 message two                    Z
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%h %<|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	$head1 message two                    Z
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutput
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with no padding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with no padding' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%<(1)%s" >actual &&
 	cat <<-EOF >expected &&
 	message two
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutputEn
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with trunc' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with trunc' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,trunc)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-\EOF >expected &&
 	message ..
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with trunc' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with trunc. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with trunc. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,trunc)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-\EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	message ..
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with trunc. i18n.logOutputEncodin
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with ltrunc' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with ltrunc' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,ltrunc)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	..sage two
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with ltrunc' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with ltrunc. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with ltrunc. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,ltrunc)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	..sage two
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with ltrunc. i18n.logOutputEncodi
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with mtrunc' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with mtrunc' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,mtrunc)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-\EOF >expected &&
 	mess.. two
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with mtrunc' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with mtrunc. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left alignment formatting with mtrunc. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,mtrunc)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-\EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	mess.. two
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left alignment formatting with mtrunc. i18n.logOutputEncodi
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%>(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	Z                            message two
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%>(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	Z                            message two
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%h %>|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	$head1                      message two
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	COLUMNS=50 git log --pretty="tformat:%h %>|(-10)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	$head1                      message two
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%h %>|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	$head1                      message two
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutpu
 
 # Note: Space between 'message' and 'two' should be in the same column
 # as in previous test.
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column with --graph. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting at the nth column with --graph. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --graph --pretty="tformat:%h %>|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected <<-EOF &&
 	* $head1                    message two
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting at the nth column with --graph.
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting with no padding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting with no padding' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%>(1)%s" >actual &&
 	cat <<-EOF >expected &&
 	message two
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting with no padding' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting with no padding and with --graph' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting with no padding and with --graph' '
 	git log --graph --pretty="tformat:%>(1)%s" >actual &&
 	cat <<-EOF >expected &&
 	* message two
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting with no padding and with --graph
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'right alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%>(1)%s" >actual &&
 	cat <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	message two
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ test_expect_success 'right alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutputE
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%><(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	Z             message two              Z
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%><(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	Z             message two              Z
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	EOF
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting at the nth column' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%h %><|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	$head1           message two          Z
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting at the nth column' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	COLUMNS=70 git log --pretty="tformat:%h %><|(-30)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF >expected &&
 	$head1           message two          Z
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting at the nth column' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%h %><|(40)%s" >actual &&
 	qz_to_tab_space <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	$head1           message two          Z
@@ -479,7 +479,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting at the nth column. i18n.logOutp
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting with no padding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting with no padding' '
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%><(1)%s" >actual &&
 	cat <<-EOF >expected &&
 	message two
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting with no padding' '
 # save HEAD's SHA-1 digest (with no abbreviations) to use it below
 # as far as the next test amends HEAD
 old_head1=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD~0)
-test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'center alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%><(1)%s" >actual &&
 	cat <<-EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	message two
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ test_expect_success 'center alignment formatting with no padding. i18n.logOutput
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'left/right alignment formatting with stealing' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left/right alignment formatting with stealing' '
 	git commit --amend -m short --author "long long long <long@me.com>" &&
 	git log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,trunc)%s%>>(10,ltrunc)% an" >actual &&
 	cat <<-\EOF >expected &&
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ test_expect_success 'left/right alignment formatting with stealing' '
 	EOF
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
-test_expect_success 'left/right alignment formatting with stealing. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'left/right alignment formatting with stealing. i18n.logOutputEncoding' '
 	git -c i18n.logOutputEncoding=$test_encoding log --pretty="tformat:%<(10,trunc)%s%>>(10,ltrunc)% an" >actual &&
 	cat <<-\EOF | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding >expected &&
 	short long  long long
@@ -564,22 +564,38 @@ test_expect_success 'log decoration properly follows tag chain' '
 	git tag -d tag1 &&
 	git commit --amend -m shorter &&
 	git log --no-walk --tags --pretty="%H %d" --decorate=full >actual &&
-	cat <<-EOF >expected &&
-	$head2  (tag: refs/tags/message-one)
-	$old_head1  (tag: refs/tags/message-two)
-	$head1  (tag: refs/tags/tag2)
-	EOF
+	if test_have_prereq ICONV
+	then
+		cat <<-EOF >expected
+		$head2  (tag: refs/tags/message-one)
+		$old_head1  (tag: refs/tags/message-two)
+		$head1  (tag: refs/tags/tag2)
+		EOF
+	else
+		cat <<-EOF >expected
+		$head2  (tag: refs/tags/message-one)
+		$old_head1  (tag: refs/tags/tag2, tag: refs/tags/message-two)
+		EOF
+	fi &&
 	sort -k3 actual >actual1 &&
 	test_cmp expected actual1
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'clean log decoration' '
 	git log --no-walk --tags --pretty="%H %D" --decorate=full >actual &&
-	cat >expected <<-EOF &&
-	$head2 tag: refs/tags/message-one
-	$old_head1 tag: refs/tags/message-two
-	$head1 tag: refs/tags/tag2
-	EOF
+	if test_have_prereq ICONV
+	then
+		cat <<-EOF >expected
+		$head2 tag: refs/tags/message-one
+		$old_head1 tag: refs/tags/message-two
+		$head1 tag: refs/tags/tag2
+		EOF
+	else
+		cat <<-EOF >expected
+		$head2 tag: refs/tags/message-one
+		$old_head1 tag: refs/tags/tag2, tag: refs/tags/message-two
+		EOF
+	fi &&
 	sort -k3 actual >actual1 &&
 	test_cmp expected actual1
 '
diff --git a/t/t4210-log-i18n.sh b/t/t4210-log-i18n.sh
index 7120030b5c..4a12b2b497 100755
--- a/t/t4210-log-i18n.sh
+++ b/t/t4210-log-i18n.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ test_description='test log with i18n features'
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./lib-gettext.sh
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping log i18n tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 # two forms of é
 utf8_e=$(printf '\303\251')
 latin1_e=$(printf '\351')
diff --git a/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh b/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh
index 661feb6070..cb03522d02 100755
--- a/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh
+++ b/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ test_description='git am with corrupt input'
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping am encoding corruption tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 make_mbox_with_nul () {
 	space=' '
 	q_nul_in_subject=
diff --git a/t/t5100-mailinfo.sh b/t/t5100-mailinfo.sh
index 065156c1f3..23b2f21872 100755
--- a/t/t5100-mailinfo.sh
+++ b/t/t5100-mailinfo.sh
@@ -28,7 +28,12 @@ check_mailinfo () {
 
 for mail in 00*
 do
-	test_expect_success "mailinfo $mail" '
+	case "$mail" in
+	0004)
+		prereq=ICONV;;
+	esac
+
+	test_expect_success $prereq "mailinfo $mail" '
 		check_mailinfo "$mail" "" &&
 		if test -f "$DATA/msg$mail--scissors"
 		then
@@ -56,7 +61,12 @@ test_expect_success 'split box with rfc2047 samples' \
 
 for mail in rfc2047/00*
 do
-	test_expect_success "mailinfo $mail" '
+	case "$mail" in
+	rfc2047/0001)
+		prereq=ICONV;;
+	esac
+
+	test_expect_success $prereq "mailinfo $mail" '
 		git mailinfo -u "$mail-msg" "$mail-patch" <"$mail" >"$mail-info" &&
 		echo msg &&
 		test_cmp "$DATA/empty" "$mail-msg" &&
diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh
index 58189c9f7d..3c873de17e 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh
@@ -344,12 +344,12 @@ test_expect_success 'git client shows text/plain with a charset' '
 	grep "this is the error message" stderr
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'http error messages are reencoded' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'http error messages are reencoded' '
 	test_must_fail git clone "$HTTPD_URL/error/utf16" 2>stderr &&
 	grep "this is the error message" stderr
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'reencoding is robust to whitespace oddities' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'reencoding is robust to whitespace oddities' '
 	test_must_fail git clone "$HTTPD_URL/error/odd-spacing" 2>stderr &&
 	grep "this is the error message" stderr
 '
diff --git a/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh b/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh
index f1623b1c06..2a01a62a2f 100755
--- a/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh
+++ b/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh
@@ -13,21 +13,41 @@ TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-terminal.sh
 
 test_tick
-# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
-test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
 
-# String "added" in German
-# (translated with Google Translate),
-# encoded in UTF-8, used as a commit log message below.
-added_utf8_part=$(printf "\303\274")
-added_utf8_part_iso88591=$(echo "$added_utf8_part" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
-added=$(printf "added (hinzugef${added_utf8_part}gt) foo")
-added_iso88591=$(echo "$added" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
-# same but "changed"
-changed_utf8_part=$(printf "\303\244")
-changed_utf8_part_iso88591=$(echo "$changed_utf8_part" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
-changed=$(printf "changed (ge${changed_utf8_part}ndert) foo")
-changed_iso88591=$(echo "$changed" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
+if test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
+	test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+
+	# String "added" in German
+	# (translated with Google Translate),
+	# encoded in UTF-8, used as a commit log message below.
+	added_utf8_part=$(printf "\303\274")
+	added_utf8_part_iso88591=$(echo "$added_utf8_part" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
+	added=$(printf "added (hinzugef${added_utf8_part}gt) foo")
+	added_iso88591=$(echo "$added" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
+	# same but "changed"
+	changed_utf8_part=$(printf "\303\244")
+	changed_utf8_part_iso88591=$(echo "$changed_utf8_part" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
+	changed=$(printf "changed (ge${changed_utf8_part}ndert) foo")
+	changed_iso88591=$(echo "$changed" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
+else
+	# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
+	test_encoding="UTF-8"
+
+	# String "added" in German
+	# (translated with Google Translate),
+	# encoded in UTF-8, used as a commit log message below.
+	added_utf8_part="u"
+	added_utf8_part_iso88591="u"
+	added=$(printf "added (hinzugef${added_utf8_part}gt) foo")
+	added_iso88591="$added"
+	# same but "changed"
+	changed_utf8_part="a"
+	changed_utf8_part_iso88591="a"
+	changed=$(printf "changed (ge${changed_utf8_part}ndert) foo")
+	changed_iso88591="$changed"
+fi
 
 # Count of char to truncate
 # Number is chosen so, that non-ACSII characters
@@ -198,7 +218,7 @@ Thu, 7 Apr 2005 15:13:13 -0700
 1112911993
 EOF
 
-test_format encoding %e <<EOF
+test_format ICONV encoding %e <<EOF
 commit $head2
 $test_encoding
 commit $head1
@@ -374,7 +394,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup complex body' '
 	head3_short=$(git rev-parse --short $head3)
 '
 
-test_format complex-encoding %e <<EOF
+test_format ICONV complex-encoding %e <<EOF
 commit $head3
 $test_encoding
 commit $head2
diff --git a/t/t7102-reset.sh b/t/t7102-reset.sh
index 2add26d768..e9a6cc7265 100755
--- a/t/t7102-reset.sh
+++ b/t/t7102-reset.sh
@@ -13,21 +13,31 @@ export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
-commit_msg () {
-	# String "modify 2nd file (changed)" partly in German
-	# (translated with Google Translate),
-	# encoded in UTF-8, used as a commit log message below.
-	msg="modify 2nd file (ge\303\244ndert)\n"
-	if test -n "$1"
-	then
-		printf "$msg" | iconv -f utf-8 -t "$1"
-	else
-		printf "$msg"
-	fi
-}
+if test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	commit_msg () {
+		# String "modify 2nd file (changed)" partly in German
+		# (translated with Google Translate),
+		# encoded in UTF-8, used as a commit log message below.
+		msg="modify 2nd file (ge\303\244ndert)\n"
+		if test -n "$1"
+		then
+			printf "$msg" | iconv -f utf-8 -t "$1"
+		else
+			printf "$msg"
+		fi
+	}
 
-# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
-test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+	# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
+	test_encoding="ISO8859-1"
+else
+	commit_msg () {
+		echo "modify 2nd file (geandert)"
+	}
+
+	# Tested non-UTF-8 encoding
+	test_encoding="UTF-8"
+fi
 
 test_expect_success 'creating initial files and commits' '
 	test_tick &&
diff --git a/t/t8005-blame-i18n.sh b/t/t8005-blame-i18n.sh
index 75da219ed1..7a1f581c24 100755
--- a/t/t8005-blame-i18n.sh
+++ b/t/t8005-blame-i18n.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@
 test_description='git blame encoding conversion'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
+if ! test_have_prereq ICONV
+then
+	skip_all='skipping blame i18n tests; iconv not available'
+	test_done
+fi
+
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/t8005/utf8.txt
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/t8005/euc-japan.txt
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/t8005/sjis.txt
diff --git a/t/t9300-fast-import.sh b/t/t9300-fast-import.sh
index 3b3c371740..6224f54d4d 100755
--- a/t/t9300-fast-import.sh
+++ b/t/t9300-fast-import.sh
@@ -3676,7 +3676,7 @@ test_expect_success !MINGW 'W: get-mark & empty orphan commit with erroneous thi
 ### series X (other new features)
 ###
 
-test_expect_success 'X: handling encoding' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'X: handling encoding' '
 	test_tick &&
 	cat >input <<-INPUT_END &&
 	commit refs/heads/encoding
diff --git a/t/t9350-fast-export.sh b/t/t9350-fast-export.sh
index 2bdc02b459..9595dfef2e 100755
--- a/t/t9350-fast-export.sh
+++ b/t/t9350-fast-export.sh
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ test_expect_success 'fast-export --show-original-ids | git fast-import' '
 	test $MUSS = $(git rev-parse --verify refs/tags/muss)
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'reencoding iso-8859-7' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'reencoding iso-8859-7' '
 
 	test_when_finished "git reset --hard HEAD~1" &&
 	test_config i18n.commitencoding iso-8859-7 &&
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ M 100644 :1 there
 
 EOF
 
-test_expect_success 'dropping tag of filtered out object' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'dropping tag of filtered out object' '
 (
 	cd limit-by-paths &&
 	git fast-export --tag-of-filtered-object=drop mytag -- there > output &&
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ msg
 
 EOF
 
-test_expect_success 'rewriting tag of filtered out object' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'rewriting tag of filtered out object' '
 (
 	cd limit-by-paths &&
 	git fast-export --tag-of-filtered-object=rewrite mytag -- there > output &&
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@ M 100644 :13 file
 
 EOF
 
-test_expect_success 'avoid uninteresting refs' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'avoid uninteresting refs' '
 	> tmp-marks &&
 	git fast-export --import-marks=tmp-marks \
 		--export-marks=tmp-marks main > /dev/null &&
@@ -686,7 +686,7 @@ from :14
 
 EOF
 
-test_expect_success 'refs are updated even if no commits need to be exported' '
+test_expect_success ICONV 'refs are updated even if no commits need to be exported' '
 	> tmp-marks &&
 	git fast-export --import-marks=tmp-marks \
 		--export-marks=tmp-marks main > /dev/null &&
diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index 241198ba95..a278181a05 100644
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -1743,6 +1743,7 @@ esac
 
 ( COLUMNS=1 && test $COLUMNS = 1 ) && test_set_prereq COLUMNS_CAN_BE_1
 test -z "$NO_CURL" && test_set_prereq LIBCURL
+test -z "$NO_ICONV" && test_set_prereq ICONV
 test -z "$NO_PERL" && test_set_prereq PERL
 test -z "$NO_PTHREADS" && test_set_prereq PTHREADS
 test -z "$NO_PYTHON" && test_set_prereq PYTHON