diff --git a/book/src/configuration.md b/book/src/configuration.md
index fdabe7687dd3..1f32b6578a11 100644
--- a/book/src/configuration.md
+++ b/book/src/configuration.md
@@ -218,10 +218,11 @@ tabpad = "·" # Tabs will look like "→···" (depending on tab width)
 
 Options for rendering vertical indent guides.
 
-| Key         | Description                                             | Default |
-| ---         | ---                                                     | ---     |
-| `render`    | Whether to render indent guides.                        | `false` |
-| `character` | Literal character to use for rendering the indent guide | `│`     |
+| Key           | Description                                             | Default |
+| ---           | ---                                                     | ---     |
+| `render`      | Whether to render indent guides.                        | `false` |
+| `character`   | Literal character to use for rendering the indent guide | `│`     |
+| `skip-levels` | Number of indent levels to skip                         | `0`     |
 
 Example:
 
@@ -229,4 +230,5 @@ Example:
 [editor.indent-guides]
 render = true
 character = "╎"
+skip-levels = 1
 ```
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
index 7cb29c3b1ecb..4d450faa5b73 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
@@ -436,7 +436,8 @@ impl EditorView {
                 return;
             }
 
-            let starting_indent = (offset.col / tab_width) as u16;
+            let starting_indent =
+                (offset.col / tab_width) as u16 + config.indent_guides.skip_levels;
             // TODO: limit to a max indent level too. It doesn't cause visual artifacts but it would avoid some
             // extra loops if the code is deeply nested.
 
diff --git a/helix-view/src/editor.rs b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
index 5eff998360ef..c6b301ee089e 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
@@ -529,15 +529,17 @@ impl Default for WhitespaceCharacters {
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-#[serde(default)]
+#[serde(default, rename_all = "kebab-case")]
 pub struct IndentGuidesConfig {
     pub render: bool,
     pub character: char,
+    pub skip_levels: u16,
 }
 
 impl Default for IndentGuidesConfig {
     fn default() -> Self {
         Self {
+            skip_levels: 0,
             render: false,
             character: '│',
         }