Adding Months to a Date in Microsoft Excel

How to Use the EDATE Function in Microsoft Excel

The EDATE function in Excel is a great tool for adding or subtracting months from a specific date. You can easily calculate the resulting date after a certain number of months have passed. Here’s how to use the EDATE function.

How the EDATE Function Works

The EDATE function takes two arguments:

1. Start Date: The date from which you want to calculate.
2. Months: The number of months to add (or subtract). Use a negative number to subtract months.

Formula Syntax:

scssCopyEdit=EDATE(start_date, months)

Steps to Add (or Subtract) Months to a Date

1. Open Your Spreadsheet

Open your Excel document where you want to calculate the new date.

2. Enter the Formula

Select the cell where you want the result to appear. In that cell, enter the following formula and press Enter:

scssCopyEdit=EDATE(C2, C4)

• C2: Replace this with the cell containing your source date.
• C4: Replace this with the cell containing the number of months you want to add (or subtract).

If you want to subtract months from the date, use a negative number. For example, to subtract 3 months, use:

scssCopyEdit=EDATE(C2, -3)

Formatting the Result as a Date

If the result shows a string of numbers instead of a date, it’s likely because the cell isn’t formatted as a date. To fix this:

1. Select the cell where the result is shown.
2. Go to the Home tab in Excel’s ribbon.
3. In the Number section, click the drop-down menu and choose Short Date.

Example

Let’s say:

• C2 contains the date 2025-01-01.
• C4 contains the value 6 (for 6 months).

The formula will be:

scssCopyEdit=EDATE(C2, C4)

If you want to subtract 3 months, the formula will be:

scssCopyEdit=EDATE(C2, -3)

Excel will display the new date based on your inputs.

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