diff --git a/railties/lib/rails/commands/notes/notes_command.rb b/railties/lib/rails/commands/notes/notes_command.rb
index 21900ce545744..0ed05301fda0b 100644
--- a/railties/lib/rails/commands/notes/notes_command.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/rails/commands/notes/notes_command.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 module Rails
   module Command
     class NotesCommand < Base # :nodoc:
-      class_option :annotations, aliases: "-a", desc: "Filter by specific annotations, e.g. Foobar TODO", type: :array, default: Rails::SourceAnnotationExtractor::Annotation.tags
+      class_option :annotations, aliases: "-a", desc: "Filter by specific annotations, e.g. Foobar TODO", type: :array
 
       def perform(*)
         require_application_and_environment!
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def perform(*)
 
       private
         def display_annotations
-          annotations = options[:annotations]
+          annotations = options[:annotations] || Rails::SourceAnnotationExtractor::Annotation.tags
           tag = (annotations.length > 1)
 
           Rails::SourceAnnotationExtractor.enumerate annotations.join("|"), tag: tag, dirs: directories