diff --git a/src/libs/SearchAutocompleteUtils.ts b/src/libs/SearchAutocompleteUtils.ts
index e3ec6741b10ad..96c281b3db6f3 100644
--- a/src/libs/SearchAutocompleteUtils.ts
+++ b/src/libs/SearchAutocompleteUtils.ts
@@ -193,7 +193,8 @@ function filterOutRangesWithCorrectValue(
         case CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_FILTER_KEYS.ACTION:
             return actionList.includes(range.value);
         case CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_FILTER_KEYS.CATEGORY:
-            return categoryList.get().includes(range.value);
+            // Treat the empty category as selected if any of its synonyms (e.g., "none", "uncategorized") appear in filterValues.
+            return categoryList.get().includes(range.value) || CONST.SEARCH.CATEGORY_EMPTY_VALUE.split(',').some((emptyVal) => emptyVal.toLowerCase() === range.value.toLowerCase());
         case CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_FILTER_KEYS.TAG:
             return tagList.get().includes(range.value);
         case CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_ROOT_KEYS.GROUP_BY:
diff --git a/src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts b/src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts
index bdc8c3142113a..80bded2110e2b 100644
--- a/src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts
+++ b/src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts
@@ -835,8 +835,9 @@ function buildFilterFormValuesFromQuery(
                       .flat();
             const uniqueCategories = new Set(categories);
             const emptyCategories = CONST.SEARCH.CATEGORY_EMPTY_VALUE.split(',');
-            const hasEmptyCategoriesInFilter = emptyCategories.every((category) => filterValues.includes(category));
-            // We split CATEGORY_EMPTY_VALUE into individual values to detect both are present in filterValues.
+            // Return true if the value is a known category or one of the empty-category synonyms (e.g., 'none', 'uncategorized').
+            const filterValuesLower = new Set(filterValues.map((v) => v.toLowerCase()));
+            const hasEmptyCategoriesInFilter = emptyCategories.some((category) => filterValuesLower.has(category.toLowerCase()));
             // If empty categories are found, append the CATEGORY_EMPTY_VALUE to filtersForm.
             filtersForm[key as typeof filterKey] = filterValues.filter((name) => uniqueCategories.has(name)).concat(hasEmptyCategoriesInFilter ? [CONST.SEARCH.CATEGORY_EMPTY_VALUE] : []);
         }