Here’s how to perform various calculations between dates using Excel functions:
(Note: Video version above, text version below)
Text version (note: click on an image for a better view):
I have two dates and want to calculate the days, months, years and only months between them. Here is a chart showing the dates and the various calculations:
Days: Just subtract the two cells. Dates are just serial numbers and will subtract just as any other numbers.
Only Months: This formula will just subtract the month numbers between the two dates. So in this case July minus November is the same as 7 minus 11 = negative 4.
Years: As with months, years will just subtract the two year numbers of the dates, ignoring any other numbers. So, in this case, 2013 minus 2001 = 12. It doesn’t matter when in the year each date is.
Months: This one is a bit trickier. You first need to subtract the years and multiply them times 12 to get the months. (2013-2001)=12*12=144 months. Now, as noted above, the difference between the months is -4. Adding that to 144 = 140 months between the two dates. Note that it ignores the days of the month in the calculations.