diff --git a/git/cmd.py b/git/cmd.py
index 50b1e3212..d41f8f89a 100644
--- a/git/cmd.py
+++ b/git/cmd.py
@@ -330,6 +330,9 @@ def polish_url(cls, url, is_cygwin=None):
             but git stops liking them as it will escape the backslashes.
             Hence we undo the escaping just to be sure.
             """
+            url = os.path.expandvars(url)
+            if url.startswith('~'):
+                url = os.path.expanduser(url)
             url = url.replace("\\\\", "\\").replace("\\", "/")
 
         return url