diff --git a/framework/src/main/java/org/checkerframework/framework/ajava/JavacAnnotationEqualityVisitor.java b/framework/src/main/java/org/checkerframework/framework/ajava/JavacAnnotationEqualityVisitor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..38b17b94b52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/framework/src/main/java/org/checkerframework/framework/ajava/JavacAnnotationEqualityVisitor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+package org.checkerframework.framework.ajava;
+
+import com.sun.source.tree.AnnotatedTypeTree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.AnnotationTree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.ModifiersTree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.ModuleTree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.NewArrayTree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.PackageTree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.Tree;
+import com.sun.source.tree.TypeParameterTree;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
+import org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.qual.MonotonicNonNull;
+import org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.qual.Nullable;
+
+/**
+ * Given two javac ASTs representing the same Java file that may differ in annotations, tests if
+ * they have the same annotations.
+ *
+ * <p>To use this class, call {@link #scan} with the roots of the two ASTs. Then, check {@link
+ * #getAnnotationsMatch}.
+ */
+public class JavacAnnotationEqualityVisitor extends DoubleJavacVisitor {
+
+  /** True if no node with mismatched annotations has been seen. */
+  private boolean annotationsMatch = true;
+
+  /** If a node with mismatched annotations has been seen, stores the node from the first AST. */
+  private @MonotonicNonNull Tree mismatchedNode1 = null;
+
+  /** If a node with mismatched annotations has been seen, stores the node from the second AST. */
+  private @MonotonicNonNull Tree mismatchedNode2 = null;
+
+  /** Constructs a {@code JavacAnnotationEqualityVisitor}. */
+  public JavacAnnotationEqualityVisitor() {
+    annotationsMatch = true;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns true if all visited pairs of nodes had matching annotations.
+   *
+   * @return true if all visited pairs of nodes had matching annotations
+   */
+  public boolean getAnnotationsMatch() {
+    return annotationsMatch;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * If a visited pair of nodes has had mismatched annotations, returns the node from the first AST
+   * where annotations differed, or null otherwise.
+   *
+   * @return the node from the first AST with differing annotations, or null
+   */
+  public @Nullable Tree getMismatchedNode1() {
+    return mismatchedNode1;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * If a visited pair of nodes has had mismatched annotations, returns the node from the second AST
+   * where annotations differed, or null otherwise.
+   *
+   * @return the node from the second AST with differing annotations, or null
+   */
+  public @Nullable Tree getMismatchedNode2() {
+    return mismatchedNode2;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the annotation trees on the given tree, or an empty list if the tree type does not
+   * carry annotations.
+   *
+   * <p>In javac's AST, annotations appear on {@link ModifiersTree} (declaration annotations),
+   * {@link AnnotatedTypeTree} (type-use annotations), {@link TypeParameterTree}, {@link
+   * PackageTree}, {@link ModuleTree}, and {@link NewArrayTree}.
+   *
+   * @param tree a tree
+   * @return the annotations on the tree
+   */
+  public static List<? extends AnnotationTree> getAnnotations(Tree tree) {
+    if (tree instanceof ModifiersTree t) {
+      return t.getAnnotations();
+    }
+    if (tree instanceof AnnotatedTypeTree t) {
+      return t.getAnnotations();
+    }
+    if (tree instanceof TypeParameterTree t) {
+      return t.getAnnotations();
+    }
+    if (tree instanceof PackageTree t) {
+      return t.getAnnotations();
+    }
+    if (tree instanceof ModuleTree t) {
+      return t.getAnnotations();
+    }
+    if (tree instanceof NewArrayTree t) {
+      return t.getAnnotations();
+    }
+    return Collections.emptyList();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Compares two lists of annotation trees by their string representations. Javac trees do not
+   * implement structural {@code equals}, so string comparison is used instead. Javac tree {@code
+   * toString} does not include comments, so no comment-stripping is needed.
+   *
+   * @param annos1 the first list of annotations
+   * @param annos2 the second list of annotations
+   * @return true if the two lists represent the same annotations
+   */
+  private static boolean annotationsEqual(
+      List<? extends AnnotationTree> annos1, List<? extends AnnotationTree> annos2) {
+    if (annos1.size() != annos2.size()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < annos1.size(); i++) {
+      if (!annos1.get(i).toString().equals(annos2.get(i).toString())) {
+        return false;
+      }
+    }
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  protected Void defaultAction(Tree tree1, Tree tree2) {
+    if (!annotationsMatch) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    List<? extends AnnotationTree> annos1 = getAnnotations(tree1);
+    List<? extends AnnotationTree> annos2 = getAnnotations(tree2);
+
+    if (!annotationsEqual(annos1, annos2)) {
+      annotationsMatch = false;
+      mismatchedNode1 = tree1;
+      mismatchedNode2 = tree2;
+    }
+
+    return null;
+  }
+}