diff --git a/functions/vcs.zsh b/functions/vcs.zsh
index d525f815..321424c6 100755
--- a/functions/vcs.zsh
+++ b/functions/vcs.zsh
@@ -8,17 +8,35 @@
 
 set_default POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY false
 function +vi-git-untracked() {
-    [[ -z "${vcs_comm[gitdir]}" || "${vcs_comm[gitdir]}" == "." ]] && return
+    [[ -z "${vcs_comm[gitdir]}" ]] && return
 
-    if [[ "$POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY" == "true" && "$(command git submodule foreach --quiet --recursive 'command git ls-files --others --exclude-standard')" != "" ]]; then
+    # If we are in a repos root folder, vcs_comm[gitdir] yields ".git".
+    # Inside the .git dir itself (and not a subdir of it) the variable
+    # yields ".". In any other case (either a subdirectory of .git or
+    # the repo itself), the value of vcs_comm[gitdir] is the absolute
+    # path to the .git directory.
+    # Therefore we can step up a directory, if we are inside the .git
+    # folder. And in any other case, use the parent directory of the
+    # gitdir.
+    local repoDir="."
+    # Getting the parent dir of the current dir "." is still ".", so
+    # is is safe to do this always.
+    [[ "${vcs_comm[gitdir]}" != ".git" ]] && repoDir="${vcs_comm[gitdir]:h}"
+    [[ "${vcs_comm[gitdir]}" == "." ]] && repoDir=".."
+
+    if [[ "$POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY" == "true" && "$(cd ${repoDir} && command git submodule foreach --quiet --recursive 'command git ls-files --others --exclude-standard')" != "" ]]; then
         hook_com[unstaged]+=" $(print_icon 'VCS_UNTRACKED_ICON')"
         VCS_WORKDIR_HALF_DIRTY=true
-    elif [[ "$(command git ls-files --others --exclude-standard)" != "" ]]; then
+    elif [[ "$(cd ${repoDir} && command git ls-files --others --exclude-standard)" != "" ]]; then
         hook_com[unstaged]+=" $(print_icon 'VCS_UNTRACKED_ICON')"
         VCS_WORKDIR_HALF_DIRTY=true
     else
         VCS_WORKDIR_HALF_DIRTY=false
     fi
+
+    # If we are in any other directory than the repo root, we want
+    # to go back a directory.
+    [[ "${vcs_comm[gitdir]}" != ".git" ]] && cd - >/dev/null
 }
 
 function +vi-git-aheadbehind() {