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

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

📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓

⏱ 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. Example 3
  6. TIME in practice
  7. Where you will use it
  8. Worked example
  9. Mistakes people make
  10. Related functions
  11. Continue learning

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

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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.

TIME in practice

Where you will use it

  • Build times from hour/minute columns
  • Add 90 minutes: A2+TIME(1,30,0)
  • Shift timings

Worked example

HMSFormulaResult
9300=TEXT(TIME(A2,B2,C2),"hh:mm")09:30
18750=TEXT(TIME(A3,B3,C3),"hh:mm")19:15
2500=TEXT(TIME(A4,B4,C4),"hh:mm")01:00

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Hours above 23 wrapTIME(25,0,0) is 01:00
Durations over a dayUse [h]:mm format

NOW · MOD · HOUR

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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

  • 📗
    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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