EDATE Function in Excel: Add or Subtract Months From a Date

EDATE Function in Excel: Add or Subtract Months From a Date featured illustration

📎 This article includes 2 downloadable practice files ↓

⏱ 2 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

Date & TimeLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. EDATE in practice
  6. Where you will use it
  7. Worked example
  8. Mistakes people make
  9. Related functions
  10. Continue learning

EDATE returns the same day a number of months before or after a date — ideal for due dates, renewals and EMIs.

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Syntax

=EDATE(start_date, months)
Argument What it means
start_date A real date.
months Positive to go forward, negative to go back.

Examples

Example 1

=EDATE(A2, 12)

Warranty end one year later.

Example 2

=EDATE(A2, -1)

Same day last month.

💡 From 31-Jan, EDATE(…,1) returns 28/29-Feb — it never spills into March.

EDATE in practice

Where you will use it

  • EMI due dates every month
  • Warranty or subscription expiry after N months
  • Probation end dates

Worked example

31 January + 1 month gives 28 February (the last valid day).

StartMonthsFormulaResult
31-Jan-20261=TEXT(EDATE(A2,B2),"dd-mmm-yyyy")28-Feb-2026
01-Apr-202612=TEXT(EDATE(A3,B3),"dd-mmm-yyyy")01-Apr-2027
04-Oct-2026-3=TEXT(EDATE(A4,B4),"dd-mmm-yyyy")04-Jul-2026

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Adding 30 days insteadMonths have different lengths; EDATE keeps the same day number
Result shows as a numberFormat as a date

EOMONTH · DATE · DATEDIF

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⚡ Interactive Practice Lab & Formula Tester:

Test formulas dynamically in our web formula laboratory or download the companion Excel workbook.

Continue learning

All Date & Time guides →
TIMEVALUE Function in Excel: Text Time to Real TimeDateLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+TIMEVALUE turns text like "2:45 PM" into a real time…DATEVALUE Function in Excel: Convert Text Dates Into Real DatesDATEVALUE turns a date written as text into a real date number. It follows…MINUTE Function in Excel: Minute From a TimeDateLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2007+MINUTE returns 0–59 from a time.Syntax=MINUTE(serial_number)ArgumentWhat it.SECOND Function in Excel: Second From a TimeDateLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2007+SECOND returns 0–59. Mostly used to strip seconds from machine.

📎 Practice files for this article

⬇ Download all 2 files (ZIP · 37 KB)

  • 📗
    Date scenarios workbookMonth maths, financial-year start, working days with holidays — with PASS/FAIL checks and the 2 most common date mistakes.
    ⬇ XLSX · 8 KB
  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Dates & times22 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 34 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.

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