diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/deser/BeanDeserializerBuilder.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/deser/BeanDeserializerBuilder.java
index 4ea876bb6c..86e8c7d14e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/deser/BeanDeserializerBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/deser/BeanDeserializerBuilder.java
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ public JsonDeserializer<?> buildBuilderBased(JavaType valueType,
         }
         // also: type of the method must be compatible
         Class<?> rawBuildType = _buildMethod.getRawReturnType();
-        if (!valueType.getRawClass().isAssignableFrom(rawBuildType)) {
+        if (!rawBuildType.isAssignableFrom(valueType.getRawClass())) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Build method '"+_buildMethod.getFullName()
         			+" has bad return type ("+rawBuildType.getName()
         			+"), not compatible with POJO type ("+valueType.getRawClass().getName()+")");
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/creators/TestBuilderSimple.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/creators/TestBuilderSimple.java
index 78c60ecf26..8fa403c47a 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/creators/TestBuilderSimple.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/creators/TestBuilderSimple.java
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonSetter;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.annotation.JsonDeserialize;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.annotation.JsonPOJOBuilder;
@@ -157,7 +158,55 @@ public CreatorValue build() {
             return new CreatorValue(a, b, c);
         }
     }
-        
+
+    @JsonDeserialize(builder=ValueInterfaceBuilder.class)
+    interface ValueInterface {
+        int getX();
+    }
+
+    static class ValueInterfaceImpl implements ValueInterface
+    {
+        final int _x;
+
+        protected ValueInterfaceImpl(int x) {
+            _x = x+1;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public int getX() {
+            return _x;
+        }
+    }
+    static class ValueInterfaceBuilder
+    {
+        public int x;
+
+        public ValueInterfaceBuilder withX(int x0) {
+            this.x = x0;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public ValueInterface build() {
+            return new ValueInterfaceImpl(x);
+        }
+    }
+    @JsonDeserialize(builder = ValueBuilderWrongBuildType.class)
+    static class ValueClassWrongBuildType {
+
+    }
+    static class ValueBuilderWrongBuildType
+    {
+        public int x;
+
+        public ValueBuilderWrongBuildType withX(int x0) {
+            this.x = x0;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        public ValueClassXY build() {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
 	/*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Unit tests
@@ -214,4 +263,25 @@ public void testWithCreator() throws Exception
         assertEquals(2, value.b);
         assertEquals(3, value.c);
     }
+
+    public void testBuilderMethodReturnInterface() throws Exception
+    {
+        final String json = "{\"x\":1}";
+        ValueInterface value = mapper.readValue(json, ValueInterface.class);
+        assertEquals(2, value.getX());
+    }
+
+    public void testBuilderMethodReturnInvalidType() throws Exception
+    {
+        final String json = "{\"x\":1}";
+        try {
+            mapper.readValue(json, ValueClassWrongBuildType.class);
+            fail("Missing expected JsonProcessingException exception");
+        } catch(JsonProcessingException e) {
+            assertTrue(
+                    "Exception cause must be IllegalArgumentException",
+                    e.getCause() instanceof IllegalArgumentException);
+        }
+    }
+
 }