diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 045b95c4e76b..7cba471ac6db 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@
 * (Java) KafkaIO dynamic reads no longer require the obsolete `beam_fn_api` experiment ([#29998](https://github.com/apache/beam/issues/29998)).
 * (Prism) Self-checkpointing splittable DoFns now resume after their requested delay instead of immediately, so polling SDFs no longer busy-spin ([#39848](https://github.com/apache/beam/issues/39848)).
 * (Java) MongoDbIO read splitting now preserves non-ObjectId `_id` types (e.g. string ids) instead of failing to parse the generated range filters ([#39900](https://github.com/apache/beam/issues/39900)).
+* (Java) BigQueryIO now treats a 404 when deleting a temporary table or dataset as success, so a replayed work item whose earlier attempt already deleted it no longer retries forever ([#24997](https://github.com/apache/beam/issues/24997)).
 
 ## Security Fixes
 
diff --git a/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImpl.java b/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImpl.java
index 14765a65ff0b..cec50a45e00a 100644
--- a/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImpl.java
+++ b/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImpl.java
@@ -805,20 +805,35 @@ Table tryCreateTable(Table table, BackOff backoff, Sleeper sleeper) throws IOExc
      *
      * <p>Tries executing the RPC for at most {@code MAX_RPC_RETRIES} times until it succeeds.
      *
+     * <p>A table that BigQuery reports as not found is treated as deleted successfully, since that
+     * is the state the caller asked for.
+     *
      * @throws IOException if it exceeds {@code MAX_RPC_RETRIES} attempts.
      */
     @Override
     public void deleteTable(TableReference tableRef) throws IOException, InterruptedException {
-      executeWithRetries(
-          client
-              .tables()
-              .delete(tableRef.getProjectId(), tableRef.getDatasetId(), tableRef.getTableId()),
-          String.format(
-              "Unable to delete table: %s, aborting after %d retries.",
-              tableRef.getTableId(), MAX_RPC_RETRIES),
-          Sleeper.DEFAULT,
-          createDefaultBackoff(),
-          ALWAYS_RETRY);
+      try {
+        executeWithRetries(
+            client
+                .tables()
+                .delete(tableRef.getProjectId(), tableRef.getDatasetId(), tableRef.getTableId()),
+            String.format(
+                "Unable to delete table: %s, aborting after %d retries.",
+                tableRef.getTableId(), MAX_RPC_RETRIES),
+            Sleeper.DEFAULT,
+            createDefaultBackoff(),
+            DONT_RETRY_NOT_FOUND);
+      } catch (IOException e) {
+        if (!errorExtractor.itemNotFound(e)) {
+          throw e;
+        }
+
+        // a delete can succeed at bigquery and still have its work item fail to commit afterwards.
+        // the runner then replays that work item, and the replayed delete gets a 404 because the
+        // first attempt already removed the table. failing here would make the work item retry
+        // forever, which in a streaming job stalls the drain indefinitely
+        LOG.info("Table {} is already deleted, treating as success.", tableRef.getTableId());
+      }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -951,18 +966,32 @@ private void createDataset(
      *
      * <p>Tries executing the RPC for at most {@code MAX_RPC_RETRIES} times until it succeeds.
      *
+     * <p>A dataset that BigQuery reports as not found is treated as deleted successfully, since
+     * that is the state the caller asked for.
+     *
      * @throws IOException if it exceeds {@code MAX_RPC_RETRIES} attempts.
      */
     @Override
     public void deleteDataset(String projectId, String datasetId)
         throws IOException, InterruptedException {
-      executeWithRetries(
-          client.datasets().delete(projectId, datasetId),
-          String.format(
-              "Unable to delete table: %s, aborting after %d retries.", datasetId, MAX_RPC_RETRIES),
-          Sleeper.DEFAULT,
-          createDefaultBackoff(),
-          ALWAYS_RETRY);
+      try {
+        executeWithRetries(
+            client.datasets().delete(projectId, datasetId),
+            String.format(
+                "Unable to delete table: %s, aborting after %d retries.",
+                datasetId, MAX_RPC_RETRIES),
+            Sleeper.DEFAULT,
+            createDefaultBackoff(),
+            DONT_RETRY_NOT_FOUND);
+      } catch (IOException e) {
+        if (!errorExtractor.itemNotFound(e)) {
+          throw e;
+        }
+
+        // see deleteTable: a replayed work item can find the dataset its own earlier attempt
+        // already removed, and treating that 404 as a failure would retry forever
+        LOG.info("Dataset {} is already deleted, treating as success.", datasetId);
+      }
     }
 
     static class InsertBatchofRowsCallable implements Callable<List<InsertErrors>> {
diff --git a/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImplTest.java b/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImplTest.java
index 3902fb1fca33..9583e29491f4 100644
--- a/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImplTest.java
+++ b/sdks/java/io/google-cloud-platform/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/io/gcp/bigquery/BigQueryServicesImplTest.java
@@ -569,6 +569,46 @@ public void testGetTableThrows() throws Exception {
         tableRef, Collections.emptyList(), null, BackOff.STOP_BACKOFF, Sleeper.DEFAULT);
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testDeleteTableNotFoundSucceeds() throws IOException, InterruptedException {
+    setupMockResponses(
+        response -> {
+          when(response.getContentType()).thenReturn(Json.MEDIA_TYPE);
+          when(response.getStatusCode()).thenReturn(404);
+        });
+
+    BigQueryServicesImpl.DatasetServiceImpl datasetService =
+        new BigQueryServicesImpl.DatasetServiceImpl(bigquery, PipelineOptionsFactory.create());
+
+    TableReference tableRef =
+        new TableReference()
+            .setProjectId("projectId")
+            .setDatasetId("datasetId")
+            .setTableId("tableId");
+
+    datasetService.deleteTable(tableRef);
+
+    // exactly one response is prepared, so a retry of the 404 would trip the Verify inside the mock
+    // request. the assertion is therefore both "did not throw" and "did not retry"
+    verifyAllResponsesAreRead();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testDeleteDatasetNotFoundSucceeds() throws IOException, InterruptedException {
+    setupMockResponses(
+        response -> {
+          when(response.getContentType()).thenReturn(Json.MEDIA_TYPE);
+          when(response.getStatusCode()).thenReturn(404);
+        });
+
+    BigQueryServicesImpl.DatasetServiceImpl datasetService =
+        new BigQueryServicesImpl.DatasetServiceImpl(bigquery, PipelineOptionsFactory.create());
+
+    datasetService.deleteDataset("projectId", "datasetId");
+
+    verifyAllResponsesAreRead();
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void testIsTableEmptySucceeds() throws Exception {
     TableReference tableRef =