We reconsider QCD factorization for the leading power contribution to the γ*γ → π0 form factor Fγ*γ→π0(Q2) at one loop using the evanescent operator approach, and demonstrate the equivalence of the resulting factorization formulae derived with distinct prescriptions of γ5 in dimensional regularization. Applying the light-cone QCD sum rules (LCSRs) with photon distribution amplitudes (DAs) we further compute the subleading power contribution to the pion-photon form factor induced by the “hadronic” component of the real photon at the next-to-leading-order in mathcal{O}left({alpha}_sright) , with both naive dimensional regularization and ’t Hooft-Veltman schemes of γ5. Confronting our theoretical predictions of Fγ*γ→π0 (Q2) with the experimental measurements from the BaBar and the Belle Collaborations implies that a reasonable agreement can be achieved without introducing an “exotic” end-point behaviour for the twist-2 pion DA.