Date and Time Functions in Excel
Date and Time Functions help users work with dates, calculate age, find the current date and time, generate reports, and perform date-based calculations.
Important: Excel stores dates as serial numbers, allowing calculations such as finding age, service period, due dates, and project durations.
TODAY Function
The TODAY Function returns the current system date.
Example
=TODAY()
Result: 04-Jun-2026
NOW Function
The NOW Function returns the current date and current time.
Example
=NOW()
Result: 04-Jun-2026 10:30 AM
Real World Use
- Login Time Tracking
- Project Timestamp
- Activity Monitoring
Difference Between TODAY and NOW
| Feature | TODAY() | NOW() |
|---|---|---|
| Returns Date | Yes | Yes |
| Returns Time | No | Yes |
| Arguments | None | None |
DATE Function
The DATE Function creates a valid Excel date using Year, Month, and Day values.
Syntax
=DATE(year,month,day)
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| year | Four-digit year value. |
| month | Month number (1 to 12). |
| day | Day number (1 to 31). |
Example
=DATE(2026,6,4)
Result: 04-Jun-2026
DAY Function
Returns the day number from a date.
Syntax
=DAY(serial_number)
Example
=DAY("04-Jun-2026")
Result: 4
MONTH Function
Returns the month number from a date.
Syntax
=MONTH(serial_number)
Example
=MONTH("04-Jun-2026")
Result: 6
YEAR Function
Returns the year from a date.
Syntax
=YEAR(serial_number)
Example
=YEAR("04-Jun-2026")
Result: 2026
DATEDIF Function
The DATEDIF Function calculates the difference between two dates in years, months, or days.
Syntax
=DATEDIF(start_date,end_date,unit)
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| start_date | Beginning date. |
| end_date | Ending date. |
| unit | Specifies whether to return Years, Months, or Days. |
Unit Codes
| Unit | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Y” | Complete Years |
| “M” | Complete Months |
| “D” | Total Days |
Examples
Age in Years
=DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"Y")
Service in Months
=DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"M")
Project Duration in Days
=DATEDIF(A2,B2,"D")