diff --git a/compiler/noirc_evaluator/src/ssa/opt/die.rs b/compiler/noirc_evaluator/src/ssa/opt/die.rs
index b0843f327c..148c9eafa2 100644
--- a/compiler/noirc_evaluator/src/ssa/opt/die.rs
+++ b/compiler/noirc_evaluator/src/ssa/opt/die.rs
@@ -10,12 +10,14 @@ use crate::ssa::{
         function::Function,
         instruction::{BinaryOp, Instruction, InstructionId, Intrinsic},
         post_order::PostOrder,
-        types::NumericType,
+        types::{NumericType, Type},
         value::{Value, ValueId},
     },
     ssa_gen::Ssa,
 };
 
+use super::rc::{pop_rc_for, RcInstruction};
+
 impl Ssa {
     /// Performs Dead Instruction Elimination (DIE) to remove any instructions with
     /// unused results.
@@ -104,6 +106,8 @@ impl Context {
 
         let instructions_len = block.instructions().len();
 
+        let mut rc_tracker = RcTracker::default();
+
         // Indexes of instructions that might be out of bounds.
         // We'll remove those, but before that we'll insert bounds checks for them.
         let mut possible_index_out_of_bounds_indexes = Vec::new();
@@ -131,8 +135,12 @@ impl Context {
                     });
                 }
             }
+
+            rc_tracker.track_inc_rcs_to_remove(*instruction_id, function);
         }
 
+        self.instructions_to_remove.extend(rc_tracker.rc_pairs_to_remove);
+
         // If there are some instructions that might trigger an out of bounds error,
         // first add constrain checks. Then run the DIE pass again, which will remove those
         // but leave the constrains (any any value needed by those constrains)
@@ -517,6 +525,104 @@ fn apply_side_effects(
     (lhs, rhs)
 }
 
+#[derive(Default)]
+struct RcTracker {
+    // We can track IncrementRc instructions per block to determine whether they are useless.
+    // IncrementRc and DecrementRc instructions are normally side effectual instructions, but we remove
+    // them if their value is not used anywhere in the function. However, even when their value is used, their existence
+    // is pointless logic if there is no array set between the increment and the decrement of the reference counter.
+    // We track per block whether an IncrementRc instruction has a paired DecrementRc instruction
+    // with the same value but no array set in between.
+    // If we see an inc/dec RC pair within a block we can safely remove both instructions.
+    rcs_with_possible_pairs: HashMap<Type, Vec<RcInstruction>>,
+    rc_pairs_to_remove: HashSet<InstructionId>,
+    // We also separately track all IncrementRc instructions and all arrays which have been mutably borrowed.
+    // If an array has not been mutably borrowed we can then safely remove all IncrementRc instructions on that array.
+    inc_rcs: HashMap<ValueId, HashSet<InstructionId>>,
+    mut_borrowed_arrays: HashSet<ValueId>,
+    // The SSA often creates patterns where after simplifications we end up with repeat
+    // IncrementRc instructions on the same value. We track whether the previous instruction was an IncrementRc,
+    // and if the current instruction is also an IncrementRc on the same value we remove the current instruction.
+    // `None` if the previous instruction was anything other than an IncrementRc
+    previous_inc_rc: Option<ValueId>,
+}
+
+impl RcTracker {
+    fn track_inc_rcs_to_remove(&mut self, instruction_id: InstructionId, function: &Function) {
+        let instruction = &function.dfg[instruction_id];
+
+        if let Instruction::IncrementRc { value } = instruction {
+            if let Some(previous_value) = self.previous_inc_rc {
+                if previous_value == *value {
+                    self.rc_pairs_to_remove.insert(instruction_id);
+                }
+            }
+            self.previous_inc_rc = Some(*value);
+        } else {
+            self.previous_inc_rc = None;
+        }
+
+        // DIE loops over a block in reverse order, so we insert an RC instruction for possible removal
+        // when we see a DecrementRc and check whether it was possibly mutated when we see an IncrementRc.
+        match instruction {
+            Instruction::IncrementRc { value } => {
+                if let Some(inc_rc) =
+                    pop_rc_for(*value, function, &mut self.rcs_with_possible_pairs)
+                {
+                    if !inc_rc.possibly_mutated {
+                        self.rc_pairs_to_remove.insert(inc_rc.id);
+                        self.rc_pairs_to_remove.insert(instruction_id);
+                    }
+                }
+
+                self.inc_rcs.entry(*value).or_default().insert(instruction_id);
+            }
+            Instruction::DecrementRc { value } => {
+                let typ = function.dfg.type_of_value(*value);
+
+                // We assume arrays aren't mutated until we find an array_set
+                let dec_rc =
+                    RcInstruction { id: instruction_id, array: *value, possibly_mutated: false };
+                self.rcs_with_possible_pairs.entry(typ).or_default().push(dec_rc);
+            }
+            Instruction::ArraySet { array, .. } => {
+                let typ = function.dfg.type_of_value(*array);
+                if let Some(dec_rcs) = self.rcs_with_possible_pairs.get_mut(&typ) {
+                    for dec_rc in dec_rcs {
+                        dec_rc.possibly_mutated = true;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                self.mut_borrowed_arrays.insert(*array);
+            }
+            Instruction::Store { value, .. } => {
+                // We are very conservative and say that any store of an array value means it has the potential
+                // to be mutated. This is done due to the tracking of mutable borrows still being per block.
+                let typ = function.dfg.type_of_value(*value);
+                if matches!(&typ, Type::Array(..) | Type::Slice(..)) {
+                    self.mut_borrowed_arrays.insert(*value);
+                }
+            }
+            _ => {}
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn get_non_mutated_arrays(&self) -> HashSet<InstructionId> {
+        self.inc_rcs
+            .keys()
+            .filter_map(|value| {
+                if !self.mut_borrowed_arrays.contains(value) {
+                    Some(&self.inc_rcs[value])
+                } else {
+                    None
+                }
+            })
+            .flatten()
+            .copied()
+            .collect()
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test {
     use std::sync::Arc;