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. You'll find your answer next to SUM.Suppose that a bill of yours is due on the second Friday of each month. Now look at the bottom of the screen at the status bar. So again, if you wanted to subtract 227 from 444, you would type 444 into one cell and type -227 into the cell next to 444.

Just type your numbers into their own individual cells and turn one of them into a negative number.

You can also just use Excel's status bar (located at the bottom of your screen) to your advantage. You don't always have to enter in a formula to subtract numbers in Excel. The correct answer should immediately replace the formula you typed in. So in our example, since we want to subtract 227 from 444 the formula can look like this: Note: It doesn't matter which number is the negative one, but one of them has to be for the subtraction to occur. Then type in the following (entering in your own numbers): While Excel doesn't have a separate subtract function, you can still use the SUM function to subtract numbers. The correct answer to this subtraction problem should automatically appear in place of the formula you just typed in.įor our example, since A5 equals 444 and A6 equals 227, the answer that appeared was 217. In our example, that would look like: =A5-A6 Step 2: Click on a blank cell in your spreadsheet and type in the following formula, omitting the spaces and brackets and filling in your numbers' cell references where appropriate: For example, if one of your numbers is in a cell that is located in column A and row 6, the cell reference for that number would be A6.) (A cell reference is a way to denote the location of a given cell in a spreadsheet and the combination of a cell's column number and row number. Step 1: Choose the numbers you want to subtract and make note of their respective cell references. If you have numbers located in different cells in your spreadsheet that you want to subtract, you can do so by using cell references and a formula.

Formula to subtract cells in excel