diff --git a/src/display_buffer.cc b/src/display_buffer.cc
index 3796cf2a..c4e2d366 100644
--- a/src/display_buffer.cc
+++ b/src/display_buffer.cc
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ void DisplayAtom::trim_begin(ColumnCount count)
                                       count).coord();
     else
         m_text = m_text.substr(count).str();
-    check_invariant();
 }
 
 void DisplayAtom::trim_end(ColumnCount count)
@@ -64,18 +63,6 @@ void DisplayAtom::trim_end(ColumnCount count)
                                     -count).coord();
     else
         m_text = m_text.substr(0, m_text.column_length() - count).str();
-    check_invariant();
-}
-
-void DisplayAtom::check_invariant() const
-{
-#ifdef KAK_DEBUG
-    if (has_buffer_range())
-    {
-        kak_assert(m_buffer->is_valid(m_range.begin));
-        kak_assert(m_buffer->is_valid(m_range.end));
-    }
-#endif
 }
 
 DisplayLine::DisplayLine(AtomList atoms)
@@ -93,8 +80,6 @@ DisplayLine::iterator DisplayLine::split(iterator it, BufferCoord pos)
     DisplayAtom atom = *it;
     atom.m_range.end = pos;
     it->m_range.begin = pos;
-    atom.check_invariant();
-    it->check_invariant();
     return m_atoms.insert(it, std::move(atom));
 }
 
@@ -106,8 +91,6 @@ DisplayLine::iterator DisplayLine::split(iterator it, ColumnCount pos)
 
     DisplayAtom atom(it->m_text.substr(0, pos).str());
     it->m_text = it->m_text.substr(pos).str();
-    atom.check_invariant();
-    it->check_invariant();
     return m_atoms.insert(it, std::move(atom));
 }
 
@@ -174,7 +157,6 @@ void DisplayLine::optimize()
             next_atom_it = m_atoms.erase(next_atom_it);
         else
             atom_it = next_atom_it++;
-        atom_it->check_invariant();
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/display_buffer.hh b/src/display_buffer.hh
index 981f4960..ac6d4e82 100644
--- a/src/display_buffer.hh
+++ b/src/display_buffer.hh
@@ -31,12 +31,10 @@ public:
     enum Type { Range, ReplacedRange, Text };
 
     DisplayAtom(const Buffer& buffer, BufferCoord begin, BufferCoord end)
-        : m_type(Range), m_buffer(&buffer), m_range{begin, end}
-     { check_invariant(); }
+        : m_type(Range), m_buffer(&buffer), m_range{begin, end} {}
 
     DisplayAtom(String str, Face face = Face{})
-        : m_type(Text), m_text(std::move(str)), face(face)
-     { check_invariant(); }
+        : m_type(Text), m_text(std::move(str)), face(face) {}
 
     StringView content() const;
     ColumnCount length() const;
@@ -72,8 +70,6 @@ public:
     void trim_begin(ColumnCount count);
     void trim_end(ColumnCount count);
 
-    void check_invariant() const;
-
     bool operator==(const DisplayAtom& other) const
     {
         return face == other.face and type() == other.type() and
diff --git a/src/highlighters.cc b/src/highlighters.cc
index 66ff7d9d..caecdbf5 100644
--- a/src/highlighters.cc
+++ b/src/highlighters.cc
@@ -880,40 +880,63 @@ struct WrapHighlighter : Highlighter
     const ColumnCount m_max_width;
 };
 
-void expand_tabulations(const Context& context, HighlightPass, DisplayBuffer& display_buffer, BufferRange)
+struct TabulationHighlighter : Highlighter
 {
-    const ColumnCount tabstop = context.options()["tabstop"].get<int>();
-    auto& buffer = context.buffer();
-    for (auto& line : display_buffer.lines())
+    TabulationHighlighter() : Highlighter{HighlightPass::Move} {}
+
+    void do_highlight(const Context& context, HighlightPass,
+                      DisplayBuffer& display_buffer, BufferRange) override
     {
-        for (auto atom_it = line.begin(); atom_it != line.end(); ++atom_it)
+        const ColumnCount tabstop = context.options()["tabstop"].get<int>();
+        auto& buffer = context.buffer();
+        auto win_column = context.window().position().column;
+        for (auto& line : display_buffer.lines())
         {
-            if (atom_it->type() != DisplayAtom::Range)
-                continue;
-
-            auto begin = buffer.iterator_at(atom_it->begin());
-            auto end = buffer.iterator_at(atom_it->end());
-            for (BufferIterator it = begin; it != end; ++it)
+            for (auto atom_it = line.begin(); atom_it != line.end(); ++atom_it)
             {
-                if (*it == '\t')
-                {
-                    if (it != begin)
-                        atom_it = ++line.split(atom_it, it.coord());
-                    if (it+1 != end)
-                        atom_it = line.split(atom_it, (it+1).coord());
+                if (atom_it->type() != DisplayAtom::Range)
+                    continue;
 
-                    ColumnCount column = get_column(buffer, tabstop, it.coord());
-                    ColumnCount count = tabstop - (column % tabstop);
-                    String padding;
-                    for (int i = 0; i < count; ++i)
-                        padding += ' ';
-                    atom_it->replace(padding);
-                    break;
+                auto begin = buffer.iterator_at(atom_it->begin());
+                auto end = buffer.iterator_at(atom_it->end());
+                for (BufferIterator it = begin; it != end; ++it)
+                {
+                    if (*it == '\t')
+                    {
+                        if (it != begin)
+                            atom_it = ++line.split(atom_it, it.coord());
+                        if (it+1 != end)
+                            atom_it = line.split(atom_it, (it+1).coord());
+
+                        const ColumnCount column = get_column(buffer, tabstop, it.coord());
+                        const ColumnCount count = tabstop - (column % tabstop) -
+                                                  std::max(win_column - column, 0_col);
+                        atom_it->replace(String{' ', count});
+                        break;
+                    }
                 }
             }
         }
     }
-}
+
+    void do_compute_display_setup(const Context& context, HighlightPass, DisplaySetup& setup) override
+    {
+        auto& buffer = context.buffer();
+        // Ensure that a cursor on a tab character makes the full tab character visible
+        auto cursor = context.selections().main().cursor();
+        if (buffer.byte_at(cursor) != '\t')
+            return;
+
+        const ColumnCount tabstop = context.options()["tabstop"].get<int>();
+        const ColumnCount column = get_column(buffer, tabstop, cursor);
+        const ColumnCount width = tabstop - (column % tabstop);
+        const ColumnCount win_end = setup.window_pos.column + setup.window_range.column;
+        const ColumnCount offset = std::max(column + width - win_end, 0_col);
+
+        setup.window_pos.column += offset;
+        setup.cursor_pos.column -= offset;
+    }
+};
 
 void show_whitespaces(const Context& context, HighlightPass, DisplayBuffer& display_buffer, BufferRange,
                       StringView tab, StringView tabpad,
@@ -1935,7 +1958,7 @@ private:
 
 void setup_builtin_highlighters(HighlighterGroup& group)
 {
-    group.add_child({"tabulations"_str, make_highlighter(expand_tabulations)});
+    group.add_child({"tabulations"_str, make_unique<TabulationHighlighter>()});
     group.add_child({"unprintable"_str, make_highlighter(expand_unprintable)});
     group.add_child({"selections"_str,  make_highlighter(highlight_selections)});
 }
diff --git a/src/window.cc b/src/window.cc
index 1dee2c2a..26cf3021 100644
--- a/src/window.cc
+++ b/src/window.cc
@@ -122,12 +122,15 @@ const DisplayBuffer& Window::update_display_buffer(const Context& context)
     kak_assert(&buffer() == &context.buffer());
     compute_display_setup(context);
 
+    const int tabstop = context.options()["tabstop"].get<int>();
     for (LineCount line = 0; line < m_range.line; ++line)
     {
         LineCount buffer_line = m_position.line + line;
         if (buffer_line >= buffer().line_count())
             break;
-        lines.emplace_back(AtomList{ {buffer(), buffer_line, buffer_line+1} });
+        auto beg_byte = get_byte_to_column(buffer(), tabstop, {buffer_line, m_position.column});
+        auto end_byte = get_byte_to_column(buffer(), tabstop, {buffer_line, m_position.column + m_range.column});
+        lines.emplace_back(AtomList{ {buffer(), {buffer_line, beg_byte}, {buffer_line, end_byte}} });
     }
 
     m_display_buffer.compute_range();
@@ -137,9 +140,6 @@ const DisplayBuffer& Window::update_display_buffer(const Context& context)
     for (auto pass : { HighlightPass::Wrap, HighlightPass::Move, HighlightPass::Colorize })
         m_builtin_highlighters.highlight(context, pass, m_display_buffer, range);
 
-    // cut the start of the line before m_position.column
-    for (auto& line : lines)
-        line.trim(m_position.column, m_dimensions.column, true);
     m_display_buffer.optimize();
 
     m_last_setup = build_setup(context);
diff --git a/test/display/horizontal-scroll-onto-tab/display b/test/display/horizontal-scroll-onto-tab/display
index 3505ae3b..1b655f09 100644
--- a/test/display/horizontal-scroll-onto-tab/display
+++ b/test/display/horizontal-scroll-onto-tab/display
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "draw", "params": [[[{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "23456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901" }], [{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "    " }, { "face": { "fg": "black", "bg": "white", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " " }], [{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "       " }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "90" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "      " }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "7890\u000a" }]], { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, { "fg": "blue", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }] }
+{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "draw", "params": [[[{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "90123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678" }], [{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "90123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "    " }, { "face": { "fg": "black", "bg": "white", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "        " }], [{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "90" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "      " }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "7890\u000a" }]], { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, { "fg": "blue", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "menu_hide", "params": [] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "info_hide", "params": [] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "draw_status", "params": [[], [{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "out 2:78 " }, { "face": { "fg": "black", "bg": "yellow", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " " }, { "face": { "fg": "blue", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "1 sel" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " - unnamed0@[kak-tests]" }], { "fg": "cyan", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }] }
-{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "set_cursor", "params": ["buffer", { "line": 1, "column": 79 }] }
+{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "set_cursor", "params": ["buffer", { "line": 1, "column": 72 }] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "refresh", "params": [true] }
diff --git a/test/highlight/regions/display b/test/highlight/regions/display
index ee4ba80b..8581701e 100644
--- a/test/highlight/regions/display
+++ b/test/highlight/regions/display
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "draw", "params": [[[{ "face": { "fg": "black", "bg": "white", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "\"" }, { "face": { "fg": "green", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "abcdefgh\"" }, { "face": { "fg": "yellow", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " hehe " }, { "face": { "fg": "red", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "${ youhou{hihi} }" }, { "face": { "fg": "yellow", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "\u000a" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "" }]], { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, { "fg": "blue", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }] }
+{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "draw", "params": [[[{ "face": { "fg": "black", "bg": "white", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "\"" }, { "face": { "fg": "green", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "abcdefgh\"" }, { "face": { "fg": "yellow", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " hehe " }, { "face": { "fg": "red", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "${ youhou{hihi} }" }, { "face": { "fg": "yellow", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "\u000a" }]], { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, { "fg": "blue", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "menu_hide", "params": [] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "info_hide", "params": [] }
 { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "draw_status", "params": [[], [{ "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "out 1:1 " }, { "face": { "fg": "black", "bg": "yellow", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " " }, { "face": { "fg": "blue", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": "1 sel" }, { "face": { "fg": "default", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }, "contents": " - unnamed0@[kak-tests]" }], { "fg": "cyan", "bg": "default", "attributes": [] }] }