How to Subtract a Date From Today in Excel (Easiest Way in 2025)

In this article, we will show you how to subtract a date from today in Excel. Simply follow the steps below.

Subtract a Date From Today in Excel

Follow the steps below to calculate the difference between today and a past date in Excel.

1. Calculate Today’s Date Using the TODAY Function

In our example, we have a list of various items, entered from cell A2 to A6. Each are categorized by their type in cells B2 to B6 and paired with specific dates in cells C2 to C6. 

We want to calculate the number of days remaining until each project deadline or subscription expiry using today’s date.

In Excel, you can automatically get today’s date. We will enter =TODAY() in cell D2.

Then, press Enter. This function will update daily.

Drag the corner of the cell downwards to replicate this formula for the rest of column D.

2. Subtract Target Dates From Today’s Date to Find Remaining Days

To determine the number of days until each specified date, use subtraction in column E. For our example, we will click on cell E2 and type the formula =C2-D2.

Press Enter to see the remaining days from today.

If the result displays an error or an incorrect value, select Column E.

Right-click and go to Format Cells.

Choose Number and set decimal places to 0 to ensure the result displays correctly. Click ‘OK’ when you’re done.

Drag down from the corner of E2 to apply this formula to the rest of the entries in column E. 

This will calculate the days remaining until each event in our dataset. 

We hope that you now have a better understanding of subtracting a date from today in Excel. If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our articles on how to subtract columns in Excel and how to subtract months in Excel.