diff --git a/base/compiler/typeinfer.jl b/base/compiler/typeinfer.jl
index 47951336035ef..60ac19fb5808d 100644
--- a/base/compiler/typeinfer.jl
+++ b/base/compiler/typeinfer.jl
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ already_inferred_quick_test(interp::AbstractInterpreter, mi::MethodInstance) =
 function maybe_compress_codeinfo(interp::AbstractInterpreter, linfo::MethodInstance, ci::CodeInfo)
     def = linfo.def
     toplevel = !isa(def, Method)
-    if toplevel
+    if toplevel || JLOptions().incremental != Int8(0)  # defer compression until serialization
         return ci
     end
     if may_discard_trees(interp)
diff --git a/src/codegen.cpp b/src/codegen.cpp
index af68bf1187e22..d0eb32ff759a3 100644
--- a/src/codegen.cpp
+++ b/src/codegen.cpp
@@ -7574,7 +7574,7 @@ jl_compile_result_t jl_emit_codeinst(
                 jl_options.debug_level > 1) {
                 // update the stored code
                 if (codeinst->inferred != (jl_value_t*)src) {
-                    if (jl_is_method(def))
+                    if (jl_is_method(def) && !jl_options.incremental)    // defer compression until serialization
                         src = (jl_code_info_t*)jl_compress_ir(def, src);
                     codeinst->inferred = (jl_value_t*)src;
                     jl_gc_wb(codeinst, src);
diff --git a/src/dump.c b/src/dump.c
index 0d07e46c8a0c7..8a2333205024f 100644
--- a/src/dump.c
+++ b/src/dump.c
@@ -484,6 +484,24 @@ static int jl_serialize_generic(jl_serializer_state *s, jl_value_t *v) JL_GC_DIS
     return 0;
 }
 
+static void uncompress_code(jl_method_t *m, jl_code_instance_t *codeinst)
+{
+    while (codeinst) {
+        if (codeinst->inferred && jl_is_array(codeinst->inferred))
+            codeinst->inferred = (jl_value_t*)jl_uncompress_ir(m, codeinst, (jl_array_t*)codeinst->inferred);
+        codeinst = codeinst->next;
+    }
+}
+
+static void compress_code(jl_method_t *m, jl_code_instance_t *codeinst)
+{
+    while (codeinst) {
+        if (codeinst->inferred && jl_is_code_info(codeinst->inferred))
+            codeinst->inferred = (jl_value_t*)jl_compress_ir(m, (jl_code_info_t*)codeinst->inferred);
+        codeinst = codeinst->next;
+    }
+}
+
 static void jl_serialize_code_instance(jl_serializer_state *s, jl_code_instance_t *codeinst, int skip_partial_opaque) JL_GC_DISABLED
 {
     if (jl_serialize_generic(s, (jl_value_t*)codeinst)) {
@@ -662,7 +680,29 @@ static void jl_serialize_value_(jl_serializer_state *s, jl_value_t *v, int as_li
         int serialization_mode = 0;
         if (m->is_for_opaque_closure || module_in_worklist(m->module))
             serialization_mode |= METHOD_INTERNAL;
-        if (!(serialization_mode & METHOD_INTERNAL)) {
+        if (serialization_mode & METHOD_INTERNAL) {
+            // defer compression until serialization
+            // Compression must occur before roots are serialized.
+            // However, because jl_compress_ir is externally callable, first check
+            // whether we need to decompress. This enables root-reordering transformations.
+            if (m->source && jl_is_array(m->source))
+                m->source = (jl_value_t*)jl_uncompress_ir(m, NULL, (jl_array_t*)m->source);
+            size_t l = jl_svec_len(m->specializations);
+            for (i = 0; i < l; i++) {
+                jl_method_instance_t *mi = (jl_method_instance_t*)jl_svecref(m->specializations, i);
+                if ((jl_value_t*)mi != jl_nothing)
+                    uncompress_code(m, mi->cache);
+            }
+            // Perform root-reordering transformations here
+            // Compress
+            if (m->source && jl_is_code_info(m->source))
+                m->source = (jl_value_t*)jl_compress_ir(m, (jl_code_info_t*)m->source);
+            for (i = 0; i < l; i++) {
+                jl_method_instance_t *mi = (jl_method_instance_t*)jl_svecref(m->specializations, i);
+                if ((jl_value_t*)mi != jl_nothing)
+                    compress_code(m, mi->cache);
+            }
+        } else {
             // flag this in the backref table as special
             uintptr_t *bp = (uintptr_t*)ptrhash_bp(&backref_table, v);
             assert(*bp != (uintptr_t)HT_NOTFOUND);
diff --git a/src/method.c b/src/method.c
index d8cd1c30a94e1..53ebb4b5e9ab2 100644
--- a/src/method.c
+++ b/src/method.c
@@ -715,8 +715,12 @@ static void jl_method_set_source(jl_method_t *m, jl_code_info_t *src)
     jl_gc_wb(m, m->slot_syms);
     if (gen_only)
         m->source = NULL;
-    else
-        m->source = (jl_value_t*)jl_compress_ir(m, src);
+    else {
+        if (jl_options.incremental)    // defer compression until serialization
+            m->source = (jl_value_t*)src;
+        else
+            m->source = (jl_value_t*)jl_compress_ir(m, src);
+    }
     jl_gc_wb(m, m->source);
     JL_GC_POP();
 }