diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocLexer.java b/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocLexer.java
index 68640a926..f0a794b3f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocLexer.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocLexer.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 import com.google.common.base.CharMatcher;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 import com.google.common.collect.PeekingIterator;
 import com.google.googlejavaformat.java.javadoc.Token.BeginJavadoc;
 import com.google.googlejavaformat.java.javadoc.Token.BlockquoteCloseTag;
@@ -103,14 +104,38 @@ private static String stripJavadocBeginAndEnd(String input) {
     return input.substring("/**".length(), input.length() - "*/".length());
   }
 
+  /**
+   * An element of the nested contexts we might be in. For example, if we are inside {@code
+   * <pre>{@code ...}</pre>} then the stack of nested contexts would be {@code PRE} plus {@code
+   * CODE_CONTEXT}.
+   */
+  enum NestingContext {
+    /** {@code <pre>...</pre>}. */
+    HTML_PRE_CONTEXT,
+
+    /** {@code <code>...</code>}. */
+    HTML_CODE_CONTEXT,
+
+    /** {@code <table>...</table>}. */
+    TABLE,
+
+    /** {@code {@snippet ...}}. */
+    SNIPPET_CONTEXT,
+
+    /** Nested braces within one of the other contexts. */
+    BRACE_CONTEXT,
+
+    /**
+     * An inline tag such as {@code {@link ...}} or {@code {@code ...}}, but not {@code {@snippet
+     * ...}}.
+     */
+    INLINE_TAG_CONTEXT
+  }
+
   private final CharStream input;
   private final boolean classicJavadoc;
   private final MarkdownPositions markdownPositions;
-  private final NestingStack braceStack = new NestingStack();
-  private final NestingStack preStack = new NestingStack();
-  private final NestingStack codeStack = new NestingStack();
-  private final NestingStack tableStack = new NestingStack();
-  private boolean outerInlineTagIsSnippet;
+  private final NestingStack<NestingContext> contextStack = new NestingStack<>();
   private boolean somethingSinceNewline;
 
   private JavadocLexer(
@@ -200,56 +225,61 @@ private Function<String, Token> consumeToken() throws LexException {
     somethingSinceNewline = true;
 
     if (input.tryConsumeRegex(SNIPPET_TAG_OPEN_PATTERN)) {
-      if (braceStack.isEmpty()) {
-        braceStack.push();
-        outerInlineTagIsSnippet = true;
+      // {@snippet ...}
+      if (contextStack.containsAny(BRACE_CONTEXTS)) {
+        contextStack.push(NestingContext.BRACE_CONTEXT);
+        return Literal::new;
+      } else {
+        contextStack.push(NestingContext.SNIPPET_CONTEXT);
         return SnippetBegin::new;
       }
-      braceStack.push();
-      return Literal::new;
     } else if (input.tryConsumeRegex(INLINE_TAG_OPEN_PATTERN)) {
-      braceStack.push();
+      // {@foo ...}. We recognize this even in something like {@code {@foo ...}}, but it doesn't
+      // make any difference.
+      contextStack.push(NestingContext.INLINE_TAG_CONTEXT);
       return Literal::new;
     } else if (input.tryConsume("{")) {
-      braceStack.incrementIfPositive();
+      // A left brace that is not the start of {@foo}. We record the brace, for cases like
+      // `{@code foo{bar}}`, where the second right brace is the end of the tag.
+      if (contextStack.containsAny(BRACE_CONTEXTS)) {
+        contextStack.push(NestingContext.BRACE_CONTEXT);
+      }
       return Literal::new;
     } else if (input.tryConsume("}")) {
-      if (outerInlineTagIsSnippet && braceStack.total() == 1) {
-        braceStack.popIfNotEmpty();
-        outerInlineTagIsSnippet = false;
+      var popped = contextStack.popIfIn(BRACE_CONTEXTS);
+      if (popped == NestingContext.SNIPPET_CONTEXT) {
         return SnippetEnd::new;
       }
-      braceStack.popIfNotEmpty();
       return Literal::new;
     }
 
     // Inside an inline tag, don't do any HTML interpretation.
-    if (!braceStack.isEmpty()) {
+    if (contextStack.containsAny(TAG_CONTEXTS)) {
       verify(input.tryConsumeRegex(literalPattern()));
       return Literal::new;
     }
 
     if (input.tryConsumeRegex(PRE_OPEN_PATTERN)) {
-      preStack.push();
+      contextStack.push(NestingContext.HTML_PRE_CONTEXT);
       return preserveExistingFormatting ? Literal::new : PreOpenTag::new;
     } else if (input.tryConsumeRegex(PRE_CLOSE_PATTERN)) {
-      preStack.popIfNotEmpty();
+      contextStack.popUntil(NestingContext.HTML_PRE_CONTEXT);
       return preserveExistingFormatting() ? Literal::new : PreCloseTag::new;
     }
 
     if (input.tryConsumeRegex(CODE_OPEN_PATTERN)) {
-      codeStack.push();
+      contextStack.push(NestingContext.HTML_CODE_CONTEXT);
       return preserveExistingFormatting ? Literal::new : CodeOpenTag::new;
     } else if (input.tryConsumeRegex(CODE_CLOSE_PATTERN)) {
-      codeStack.popIfNotEmpty();
+      contextStack.popUntil(NestingContext.HTML_CODE_CONTEXT);
       return preserveExistingFormatting() ? Literal::new : CodeCloseTag::new;
     }
 
     if (input.tryConsumeRegex(TABLE_OPEN_PATTERN)) {
-      tableStack.push();
+      contextStack.push(NestingContext.TABLE);
       return preserveExistingFormatting ? Literal::new : TableOpenTag::new;
     } else if (input.tryConsumeRegex(TABLE_CLOSE_PATTERN)) {
-      tableStack.popIfNotEmpty();
+      contextStack.popUntil(NestingContext.TABLE);
       return preserveExistingFormatting() ? Literal::new : TableCloseTag::new;
     }
 
@@ -293,17 +323,11 @@ private Function<String, Token> consumeToken() throws LexException {
   }
 
   private boolean preserveExistingFormatting() {
-    return !preStack.isEmpty()
-        || !tableStack.isEmpty()
-        || !codeStack.isEmpty()
-        || outerInlineTagIsSnippet;
+    return contextStack.containsAny(PRESERVE_FORMATTING_CONTEXTS);
   }
 
   private void checkMatchingTags() throws LexException {
-    if (!braceStack.isEmpty()
-        || !preStack.isEmpty()
-        || !tableStack.isEmpty()
-        || !codeStack.isEmpty()) {
+    if (!contextStack.isEmpty()) {
       throw new LexException();
     }
   }
@@ -535,6 +559,31 @@ private static void deindentPreCodeBlock(
     }
   }
 
+  /** Contexts that imply that we should not do HTML interpretation. */
+  private static final ImmutableSet<NestingContext> TAG_CONTEXTS =
+      ImmutableSet.of(NestingContext.SNIPPET_CONTEXT, NestingContext.INLINE_TAG_CONTEXT);
+
+  /**
+   * Contexts that are opened by a left brace and closed by a matching right brace. These are the
+   * ones where a nested left brace should open a nested context.
+   */
+  private static final ImmutableSet<NestingContext> BRACE_CONTEXTS =
+      ImmutableSet.of(
+          NestingContext.SNIPPET_CONTEXT,
+          NestingContext.INLINE_TAG_CONTEXT,
+          NestingContext.BRACE_CONTEXT);
+
+  /**
+   * Contexts that preserve formatting, including line breaks and leading whitespace, within the
+   * context.
+   */
+  private static final ImmutableSet<NestingContext> PRESERVE_FORMATTING_CONTEXTS =
+      ImmutableSet.of(
+          NestingContext.HTML_PRE_CONTEXT,
+          NestingContext.TABLE,
+          NestingContext.HTML_CODE_CONTEXT,
+          NestingContext.SNIPPET_CONTEXT);
+
   private static final CharMatcher NEWLINE = CharMatcher.is('\n');
 
   private static boolean hasMultipleNewlines(String s) {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocWriter.java b/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocWriter.java
index 019e129fc..078fd44b6 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocWriter.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/JavadocWriter.java
@@ -65,9 +65,9 @@ final class JavadocWriter {
   private boolean continuingListItemOfInnermostList;
 
   private boolean continuingFooterTag;
-  private final NestingStack continuingListItemStack = new NestingStack();
-  private final NestingStack continuingListStack = new NestingStack();
-  private final NestingStack postWriteModifiedContinuingListStack = new NestingStack();
+  private final NestingStack.Int continuingListItemStack = new NestingStack.Int();
+  private final NestingStack.Int continuingListStack = new NestingStack.Int();
+  private final NestingStack.Int postWriteModifiedContinuingListStack = new NestingStack.Int();
   private int remainingOnLine;
   private boolean atStartOfLine;
   private RequestedWhitespace requestedWhitespace = NONE;
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/NestingStack.java b/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/NestingStack.java
index c029428df..29197b8b5 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/NestingStack.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/google/googlejavaformat/java/javadoc/NestingStack.java
@@ -15,41 +15,51 @@
 package com.google.googlejavaformat.java.javadoc;
 
 import java.util.ArrayDeque;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Deque;
+import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
 
 /**
- * Stack for tracking the level of nesting. In the simplest case, each entry is just the integer 1,
- * and the stack is effectively a counter. In more complex cases, the entries may depend on context.
- * For example, if the stack is keeping track of Javadoc lists, the entries represent indentation
- * levels, and those depend on whether the list is an HTML list or a Markdown list.
+ * Stack for tracking the level of nesting. In the simplest case, we have a stack of {@link Integer}
+ * where each entry is just the integer 1, and the stack is effectively a counter. In more complex
+ * cases, the entries may depend on context. For example, if the stack is keeping track of Javadoc
+ * lists, the entries represent indentation levels, and those depend on whether the list is an HTML
+ * list or a Markdown list.
+ *
+ * @param <E> The type of the elements in the stack.
  */
-final class NestingStack {
-  private int total;
-  private final Deque<Integer> stack = new ArrayDeque<>();
+final class NestingStack<E> {
+  private final Deque<E> stack = new ArrayDeque<>();
 
-  int total() {
-    return total;
+  void push(E value) {
+    stack.push(value);
   }
 
-  void push() {
-    push(1);
+  @Nullable E popIfIn(Collection<E> values) {
+    if (isEmpty() || !values.contains(stack.peek())) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    return stack.pop();
   }
 
-  void push(int value) {
-    stack.push(value);
-    total += value;
+  /**
+   * If the stack contains the given element, pop it and everything above it. Otherwise, do nothing.
+   */
+  void popUntil(E value) {
+    if (stack.contains(value)) {
+      E popped;
+      do {
+        popped = stack.pop();
+      } while (!popped.equals(value));
+    }
   }
 
-  void incrementIfPositive() {
-    if (total > 0) {
-      push();
-    }
+  boolean contains(E value) {
+    return stack.contains(value);
   }
 
-  void popIfNotEmpty() {
-    if (!isEmpty()) {
-      total -= stack.pop();
-    }
+  boolean containsAny(Collection<E> values) {
+    return stack.stream().anyMatch(values::contains);
   }
 
   boolean isEmpty() {
@@ -57,7 +67,39 @@ boolean isEmpty() {
   }
 
   void reset() {
-    total = 0;
     stack.clear();
   }
+
+  static final class Int {
+    private final Deque<Integer> stack = new ArrayDeque<>();
+    private int total;
+
+    int total() {
+      return total;
+    }
+
+    void push(int value) {
+      stack.push(value);
+      total += value;
+    }
+
+    void push() {
+      push(1);
+    }
+
+    void popIfNotEmpty() {
+      if (!stack.isEmpty()) {
+        total -= stack.pop();
+      }
+    }
+
+    boolean isEmpty() {
+      return stack.isEmpty();
+    }
+
+    void reset() {
+      stack.clear();
+      total = 0;
+    }
+  }
 }