diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f2f8aaa3663e9..2b9951a88f4de 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,31 +3,30 @@
 # This is typically in files named 'src.xml' throughout this repository.
 
 # Ignore files generated by the Gradle build process.
-.gradle/
-.gogradle/
-build/
-vendor/
-.gradletasknamecache
+**/.gradle/**/*
+**/.gogradle/**/*
+**/build/**/*
+**/vendor/**/*
+**/.gradletasknamecache
 
 # Ignore files generated by the Maven build process.
-bin/
-dependency-reduced-pom.xml
-target/
+**/bin/**/*
+**/dependency-reduced-pom.xml
+**/target/**/*
 
 # Ignore generated archetypes
 sdks/java/maven-archetypes/examples/src/main/resources/archetype-resources/src/
 sdks/java/maven-archetypes/examples-java8/src/main/resources/archetype-resources/src/
 
 # Ignore files generated by the Python build process.
-*.py[cod]
-*.egg-info/
-.eggs/
-nose-*.egg/
-.tox/
-build/
-dist/
-distribute-*
-env/
+**/*.py[cod]
+**/*.egg-info/
+**/.eggs/
+**/nose-*.egg/
+**/.tox/**/*
+**/dist/**/*
+**/distribute-*/**/*
+**/env/**/*
 sdks/python/**/*.c
 sdks/python/**/*.so
 sdks/python/**/*.egg
@@ -37,32 +36,32 @@ sdks/python/README.md
 sdks/python/apache_beam/portability/api/*pb2*.*
 
 # Ignore IntelliJ files.
-.idea/
-*.iml
-*.ipr
-*.iws
+**/.idea/**/*
+**/*.iml
+**/*.ipr
+**/*.iws
 
 # Ignore Eclipse files.
-.classpath
-.project
-.factorypath
-.checkstyle
-.fbExcludeFilterFile
-.apt_generated/
-.settings/
+**/.classpath
+**/.project
+**/.factorypath
+**/.checkstyle
+**/.fbExcludeFilterFile
+**/.apt_generated/**/*
+**/.settings/**/*
 
 # Ignore Visual Studio Code files.
-.vscode/
+**/.vscode/**/*
 
 # Hotspot VM leaves this log in a non-target directory when java crashes
-hs_err_pid*.log
+**/hs_err_pid*.log
 
 # Ignore files that end with '~', since they are most likely auto-save files
 # produced by a text editor.
-*~
+**/*~
 
 # Ignore MacOSX files.
-.DS_Store
+**/.DS_Store/**/*
 
 # NOTE: if you modify this file, you probably need to modify the file set that
 # is an input to 'maven-assembly-plugin' that generates source distribution.
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 98ce50145a043..ea19fac7e8d3c 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -187,10 +187,10 @@ rat {
   failOnError = true
   excludes = [
     // Exclude files generated by the Gradle build process
-    "**/.gradle/**",
-    "**/.gogradle/**",
-    "**/build/**",
-    "**/vendor/**",
+    "**/.gradle/**/*",
+    "**/.gogradle/**/*",
+    "**/build/**/*",
+    "**/vendor/**/*",
     "**/.gradletasknamecache",
 
     // .gitignore: Ignore files generated by the Maven build process
@@ -206,12 +206,12 @@ rat {
     "**/.eggs/**/*",
     "**/nose-*.egg/**/*",
     "**/.tox/**/*",
-    "**/build/**/*",
     "**/dist/**/*",
     "**/distribute-*/**/*",
     "**/env/**/*",
     "sdks/python/**/*.c",
     "sdks/python/**/*.so",
+    "sdks/python/**/*.egg",
     "sdks/python/LICENSE",
     "sdks/python/NOTICE",
     "sdks/python/README.md",
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ rat {
     "**/.settings/**/*",
 
     // .gitignore: Ignore Visual Studio Code files.
-    "**/.vscode/*/**",
+    "**/.vscode/**/*",
 
     // .gitignore: Hotspot VM leaves this log in a non-target directory when java crashes
     "**/hs_err_pid*.log",
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 987a995fd71c3..e25ee7287afdd 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -1642,68 +1642,10 @@
             <excludeSubProjects>false</excludeSubProjects>
             <consoleOutput>true</consoleOutput>
             <useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
-
-            <!--
-              Keep excludes in sync with .gitignore, with consistent
-              order and sections for easy cross-checking.
-
-              Patterns are relative to $PWD, not the RAT ${basedir},
-              so each _must_ be prefixed with `**` or `${project.basedir}`.
-            -->
             <excludes>
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore files generated by the Maven build process -->
-              <exclude>**/target/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/bin/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/dependency-reduced-pom.xml</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore files generated by the Python build process -->
-              <exclude>**/*.pyc</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/*.pyo</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/*.pyd</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/*.egg-info/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.eggs/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/nose-*.egg/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.tox/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/build/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/dist/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/distribute-*/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/env/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>sdks/python/**/*.c</exclude>
-              <exclude>sdks/python/**/*.so</exclude>
-              <exclude>sdks/python/LICENSE</exclude>
-              <exclude>sdks/python/NOTICE</exclude>
-              <exclude>sdks/python/README.md</exclude>
-              <exclude>sdks/python/apache_beam/portability/api/*pb2*.*</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore IntelliJ files. -->
-              <exclude>**/.idea/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/*.iml</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/*.ipr</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/*.iws</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore Eclipse files. -->
-              <exclude>**/.classpath</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.project</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.factorypath</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.checkstyle</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.fbExcludeFilterFile</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.apt_generated/**/*</exclude>
-              <exclude>**/.settings/**/*</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore Visual Studio Code files. -->
-              <exclude>**/.vscode/*/**</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Hotspot VM leaves this log in a non-target directory when java crashes -->
-              <exclude>**/hs_err_pid*.log</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore files that end with '~', since they
-                   are most likely auto-save files produced by a text editor. -->
-              <exclude>**/*~</exclude>
-
-              <!-- .gitignore: Ignore MacOSX files. -->
-              <exclude>**/.DS_Store/**/*</exclude>
-
-              <!-- Ignore files we track but do not distribute -->
+              <!-- rat uses .gitignore for excludes -->
+
+              <!-- ignore files we track but do not distribute -->
               <exclude>.github/**/*</exclude>
 
               <exclude>**/package-list</exclude>
@@ -1711,9 +1653,7 @@
               <exclude>**/test/resources/**/*.txt</exclude>
               <exclude>**/test/**/.placeholder</exclude>
 
-              <!-- Default eclipse excludes neglect subprojects -->
-
-              <!-- Proto/grpc generated wrappers -->
+              <!-- proto/grpc generated wrappers -->
               <exclude>**/apache_beam/portability/api/*_pb2*.py</exclude>
               <exclude>**/go/pkg/beam/model/**/*.pb.go</exclude>