It then adds 3 years from cell B2, resulting in 2022. The YEAR function looks at the date in cell A2, and returns 2019. In this example, we're adding and subtracting years from a starting date with the following formula: The value in each of the cells should appear as a date instead of a serial number.

Under Category, click Date, select the date format you want, and then click OK. Press Ctrl+1 to launch the Format Cells dialog, and click the Number tab. If your results appear as serial numbers, select the cells in question and continue with the following steps: By default, Januis serial number 1, and Januis serial number 40179 because it is 40,178 days after January 1, 1900. For example, might be displayed as 43504.Įxcel stores dates as sequential serial numbers so that they can be used in calculations. 1).Įnter =EDATE(A2,B2) in cell C2, and copy down as needed.ĭepending on the format of the cells that contain the formulas that you entered, Excel might display the results as serial numbers. To indicate if a month should be subtracted, you can enter a minus sign (-) before the number (e.g. For example, =EDATE('9/15/19',-5) returns 4 /15/19.įor this example, you can enter your starting dates in column A.Įnter the number of months to add or subtract in column B. To subtract months, enter a negative number as the second argument. The EDATE function requires two arguments: the start date and the number of months that you want to add or subtract. You can use the EDATE function to quickly add or subtract months from a date. In cell C2, enter =A2+B2, and copy down as needed.Īdd or subtract months from a date with the EDATE function You can enter a negative number to subtract days from your start date, and a positive number to add to your date. In the following example, you'll see how to add and subtract dates by entering positive or negative numbers.Įnter the number of days to add or subtract in column B. You want to transfer funds to your checking account so that those funds arrive 15 calendar days before that date, so you'll subtract 15 days from the due date. Suppose that a bill of yours is due on the second Friday of each month.

Subtracting in excel in one formula