diff --git a/src/sentry/plugins/bases/notify.py b/src/sentry/plugins/bases/notify.py
index 01854c7833fa88..576cad966f794d 100644
--- a/src/sentry/plugins/bases/notify.py
+++ b/src/sentry/plugins/bases/notify.py
@@ -165,7 +165,9 @@ def should_notify(self, group, event):
         allowed_tags = project.get_option('notifcation:tags', {})
         if allowed_tags:
             tags = event.data.get('tags', ())
-            if not any(v in allowed_tags.get(k) for k, v in tags):
+            if not tags:
+                return False
+            if not any(v in allowed_tags.get(k, ()) for k, v in tags):
                 return False
         return True