diff --git a/pkg/vendir/fetch/http/sync.go b/pkg/vendir/fetch/http/sync.go
index 800aabf3..fa63166b 100644
--- a/pkg/vendir/fetch/http/sync.go
+++ b/pkg/vendir/fetch/http/sync.go
@@ -38,16 +38,17 @@ func (t *Sync) Sync(dstPath string, tempArea ctlfetch.TempArea) (ctlconf.LockDir
 		return lockConf, err
 	}
 
-	defer tmpFile.Close()
 	defer os.Remove(tmpFile.Name())
 
 	err = t.downloadFileAndChecksum(tmpFile)
 	if err != nil {
+		tmpFile.Close()
 		return lockConf, fmt.Errorf("Downloading URL: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	incomingTmpPath := filepath.Dir(tmpFile.Name())
 	archivePath := filepath.Join(incomingTmpPath, path.Base(t.opts.URL))
+	tmpFile.Close()
 	err = os.Rename(tmpFile.Name(), archivePath)
 	if err != nil {
 		return lockConf, err