diff --git a/datafusion/physical-expr/src/expressions/dynamic_filters.rs b/datafusion/physical-expr/src/expressions/dynamic_filters.rs
index 7703d201aaea9..643745ac0f07e 100644
--- a/datafusion/physical-expr/src/expressions/dynamic_filters.rs
+++ b/datafusion/physical-expr/src/expressions/dynamic_filters.rs
@@ -310,14 +310,14 @@ impl DynamicFilterPhysicalExpr {
     /// that created the filter). This is useful to avoid computing expensive filter
     /// expressions when no consumer will actually use them.
     ///
-    /// Note: We check the inner Arc's strong_count, not the outer Arc's count, because
-    /// when filters are transformed (e.g., via reassign_expr_columns during filter pushdown),
-    /// new outer Arc instances are created via with_new_children(), but they all share the
-    /// same inner `Arc<RwLock<Inner>>`. This is what allows filter updates to propagate to
-    /// consumers even after transformation.
+    /// # Implementation Details
+    ///
+    /// We check both Arc counts to handle two cases:
+    /// - Transformed filters (via `with_new_children`) share the inner Arc (inner count > 1)
+    /// - Direct clones (via `Arc::clone`) increment the outer count (outer count > 1)
     pub fn is_used(self: &Arc<Self>) -> bool {
         // Strong count > 1 means at least one consumer is holding a reference beyond the producer.
-        Arc::strong_count(&self.inner) > 1
+        Arc::strong_count(self) > 1 || Arc::strong_count(&self.inner) > 1
     }
 
     fn render(
diff --git a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/joins/hash_join/exec.rs b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/joins/hash_join/exec.rs
index b290b8549c53b..beca48a5b7d50 100644
--- a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/joins/hash_join/exec.rs
+++ b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/joins/hash_join/exec.rs
@@ -631,10 +631,8 @@ impl HashJoinExec {
     ///
     /// This method is intended for testing only and should not be used in production code.
     #[doc(hidden)]
-    pub fn dynamic_filter_for_test(&self) -> Option<Arc<DynamicFilterPhysicalExpr>> {
-        self.dynamic_filter
-            .as_ref()
-            .map(|df| Arc::clone(&df.filter))
+    pub fn dynamic_filter_for_test(&self) -> Option<&Arc<DynamicFilterPhysicalExpr>> {
+        self.dynamic_filter.as_ref().map(|df| &df.filter)
     }
 
     /// Calculate order preservation flags for this hash join.