TIME Function in Excel: Build a Time From Hours, Minutes, Seconds

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

Date & TimeLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Example 3
  6. Related functions

TIME creates a time value. Excel stores time as a fraction of a day: 12:00 is 0.5, 6:00 is 0.25.

Syntax

=TIME(hour, minute, second)
Argument What it means
hour, minute, second Numbers; values over 59 roll over (90 minutes = 1:30).

Examples

Example 1

=A2+TIME(9,30,0)

Add a 9:30 shift start to a date.

Example 2

=B2-A2>TIME(8,0,0)

TRUE when more than 8 hours were worked.

Example 3

=(B2-A2)*24

Hours worked as a decimal (for payroll multiplication).

💡 Total hours over 24 show wrong unless you format the cell as [h]:mm — the brackets stop it resetting after 24.

NOW · MOD · HOUR

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