diff --git a/tests/test_sphinx/conftest.py b/tests/test_sphinx/conftest.py
index ab7611a5..cdb2d999 100644
--- a/tests/test_sphinx/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/test_sphinx/conftest.py
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ def read(
             # pygments 2.11.0 introduces a whitespace tag
             for pygment_whitespace in doc_div.select("pre > span.w"):
                 pygment_whitespace.replace_with(pygment_whitespace.text)
+            # something changed in sphinx 8 (or new docutils) to introduce this, although I couldn't find the actual commit,
+            # but in any case, it's not important for the regression test
+            for clearer_div in doc_div.findAll("div", {"class": "clearer"}):
+                clearer_div.decompose()
             text = doc_div.prettify()
             # changed in sphinx 7.2
             text = text.replace('"Link to this', '"Permalink to this')
diff --git a/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds.py b/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds.py
index 12db6c9f..8beb8748 100644
--- a/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds.py
+++ b/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds.py
@@ -178,6 +178,8 @@ def test_references_singlehtml(
             # changed in sphinx 7.3
             '="#document-index': '="index.html#document-index',
             '="#document-other': '="index.html#document-other',
+            # change in sphinx 8
+            'href="index.html#': 'href="#',
         },
     )
 
diff --git a/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds/test_references_singlehtml.html b/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds/test_references_singlehtml.html
index 643e868d..ac9ec0b7 100644
--- a/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds/test_references_singlehtml.html
+++ b/tests/test_sphinx/test_sphinx_builds/test_references_singlehtml.html
@@ -29,28 +29,28 @@ <h3>
          </a>
         </h3>
         <p>
-         <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#document-other/other2">
+         <a class="reference internal" href="#document-other/other2">
           <span class="doc">
            Other 2 Title
           </span>
          </a>
         </p>
         <p>
-         <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#document-other/other2">
+         <a class="reference internal" href="#document-other/other2">
           <span class="doc">
            Other 2 Title
           </span>
          </a>
         </p>
         <p>
-         <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#document-other/other2">
+         <a class="reference internal" href="#document-other/other2">
           <span class="std std-doc">
            Other 2 Title
           </span>
          </a>
         </p>
         <p>
-         <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#title">
+         <a class="reference internal" href="#title">
           <span class="std std-ref">
            Title
           </span>
@@ -71,21 +71,21 @@ <h3>
      </section>
     </div>
     <p>
-     <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#document-other/other">
+     <a class="reference internal" href="#document-other/other">
       <span class="doc">
        Other Title
       </span>
      </a>
     </p>
     <p>
-     <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#document-other/other">
+     <a class="reference internal" href="#document-other/other">
       <span class="doc">
        Other Title
       </span>
      </a>
     </p>
     <p>
-     <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#document-other/other">
+     <a class="reference internal" href="#document-other/other">
       <span class="std std-doc">
        Other Title
       </span>
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ <h3>
      </a>
     </p>
     <p>
-     <a class="reference internal" href="index.html#other-title">
+     <a class="reference internal" href="#other-title">
       <span class="std std-ref">
        Other Title
       </span>