diff --git a/docs/releases/1.22-NOTES.md b/docs/releases/1.22-NOTES.md
index 7d44c35903..1fce3a1717 100644
--- a/docs/releases/1.22-NOTES.md
+++ b/docs/releases/1.22-NOTES.md
@@ -136,6 +136,8 @@ For file assets, it means adding an explicit path as shown below:
 
 * The `node-role.kubernetes.io/master` and `kubernetes.io/role` labels are deprecated and might be removed from control plane nodes in kOps 1.23.
 
+* The `TerraformJSON` feature flag is deprecated and will be removed in kOps 1.23. Only native HCL2 Terraform output will be supported.
+
 * Due to lack of maintainers, the Aliyun/Alibaba Cloud support has been deprecated. The current implementation will be left as-is until the implementation needs updates or otherwise becomes incompatible. At that point, it will be removed. We very much welcome anyone willing to contribute to this cloud provider.
 
 * Due to lack of maintainers, the CloudFormation support has been deprecated. The current implementation will be left as-is until the implementation needs updates or otherwise becomes incompatible. At that point, it will be removed. We very much welcome anyone willing to contribute to this target.
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/terraform/target.go b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/terraform/target.go
index 68dc8d9f39..052a69c782 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/terraform/target.go
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/terraform/target.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package terraform
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
@@ -83,6 +84,10 @@ func tfGetProviderExtraConfig(c *kops.TargetSpec) map[string]string {
 func (t *TerraformTarget) Finish(taskMap map[string]fi.Task) error {
 	var err error
 	if featureflag.TerraformJSON.Enabled() {
+		if featureflag.TerraformManagedFiles.Enabled() {
+			// Terraform's JSON representation doesn't support provider aliases which are required for managed files
+			return errors.New("TerraformJSON cannot be used with TerraformManagedFiles")
+		}
 		err = t.finishJSON()
 	} else {
 		err = t.finishHCL2()