INTERCEPT Function in Excel: Where the Trend Line Starts

INTERCEPT Function in Excel: Where the Trend Line Starts featured illustration

📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓

⏱ 2 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

StatisticsLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2007+

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

INTERCEPT gives the y-value of the trend line when x is 0. With SLOPE you have the full equation y = intercept + slope × x.

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Syntax

=INTERCEPT(known_ys, known_xs)
Argument What it means
known_xs Independent values.

Examples

Example 1

=INTERCEPT(C2:C25, B2:B25)

Rough fixed-cost estimate when B is units made and C is total cost.

INTERCEPT in practice

Where you will use it

  • Fixed cost from a cost-vs-volume line
  • Baseline sales with zero ads
  • Regression basics

Worked example

CaseFormulaResult
1=ROUND(INTERCEPT(INDEX($H$1:$L$3,A2,0),{1,2,3,4,5}),2)10
2=ROUND(INTERCEPT(INDEX($H$1:$L$3,A3,0),{1,2,3,4,5}),2)50.2
3=ROUND(INTERCEPT(INDEX($H$1:$L$3,A4,0),{1,2,3,4,5}),2)110

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Argument orderknown_y's first
ExtrapolatingThe intercept may be outside sensible values

SLOPE · TREND

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📎 Practice files for this article

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    Practice workbook: Statistics advanced33 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 36 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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