ROUNDDOWN Function in Excel: Always Round Towards Zero

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MathLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article

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

ROUNDDOWN removes digits without rounding up — for example to calculate completed years or whole units.

Syntax

=ROUNDDOWN(number, num_digits)

Argument	What it means
num_digits	Digits to keep.

Examples

Example 1

=ROUNDDOWN(B2/1000, 0)*1000

Round an amount down to the thousand.

Example 2

=ROUNDDOWN(YEARFRAC(A2, TODAY()), 0)

Completed years of service.

ROUNDDOWN in practice

Where you will use it

• Completed cartons that can be shipped
• Age in completed years
• Conservative estimates

Worked example

Value	Digits	Formula	Result
7.89	0	=ROUNDDOWN(A2,B2)	7
1234.567	1	=ROUNDDOWN(A3,B3)	1234.5
-7.89	0	=ROUNDDOWN(A4,B4)	-7

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

Mistake	What to do instead
Negative numbers	ROUNDDOWN goes toward zero (-7.89 → -7)
Using it for money where policy says round to nearest	Use ROUND

Related functions

ROUNDUP · INT · TRUNC

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📎 Practice files for this article

• 📗
  Practice workbook: Math & rounding24 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
  ⬇ XLSX · 35 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.