diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/654-helm-expand-user.yml b/changelogs/fragments/654-helm-expand-user.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b14a00e034
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/654-helm-expand-user.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - helm - expand kubeconfig path with user's home directory for consistency with k8s
diff --git a/plugins/module_utils/helm.py b/plugins/module_utils/helm.py
index a7a2fa7c01..18314f7a8c 100644
--- a/plugins/module_utils/helm.py
+++ b/plugins/module_utils/helm.py
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ def _prepare_helm_environment(self):
         kubeconfig = self.params.get("kubeconfig")
         if kubeconfig:
             if isinstance(kubeconfig, string_types):
-                with open(kubeconfig) as fd:
+                with open(os.path.expanduser(kubeconfig)) as fd:
                     kubeconfig_content = yaml.safe_load(fd)
             elif isinstance(kubeconfig, dict):
                 kubeconfig_content = kubeconfig