How to Subtract Months in Excel (Easiest Way in 2025)
In this article, we will show you how to subtract months in Excel. Simply follow the steps below.
Subtract Months in Excel
Follow the steps below to subtract a month in Excel.
1. Select the First Empty Cell in a New Column for Date Calculation
In our example, we have a list of employee names from cell A2 to A6, each paired with their start dates in cells B2 to B6 and the number of months to subtract in cells C2 to C6.
We want to calculate the new start dates for each employee by subtracting the specified number of months from their original start dates.
To perform calculations, select the first empty cell adjacent to your data. For our data, we will click on cell D2 next to the first employee’s start date. This cell will be used to calculate the new date after subtracting months.
2. Enter the Formula to Calculate the New Date by Subtracting Months
Enter the formula =EDATE(B2, -C2) in the selected cell to subtract the specified number of months.
Where:
=EDATE(…) is the Excel function used to add or subtract months to a date.
B2 refers to the cell that contains the start date of the first employee. This is the date from which we will be subtracting months.
-C2 instructs Excel to subtract the number of months listed in cell C2 from the date in B2. The minus sign indicates subtraction, modifying the date to an earlier time.
3. Format the Newly Calculated Dates (Optional)
If the resulting answer in column D appears as a number or an error, it may be necessary to format the cells to display dates properly. In such cases, select all cells in column D.
Then, from the ‘Home’ tab, go to the ‘Number’ section.
Click on the drop-down menu where it currently says “General.”
From the drop-down menu, select ‘Short Date‘ to convert the serial numbers to a more recognizable date format like 01/02/2023, or choose ‘Long Date‘ for a full date display like Wednesday, 1 February 2023.
This adjustment ensures that our new dates are displayed correctly and uniformly across the dataset.
4. Copy the Date Subtraction Formula to Other Cells
Use the fill handle to extend the formula down through column D to apply it to all employees.
This action adjusts each row’s formula to reference the appropriate cells automatically. By doing this, we ensure all employee dates are adjusted accordingly.
We hope that you now have a better understanding of subtracting months in Excel. If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our articles on how to subtract a date from today in Excel and how to subtract weeks from a date in Excel.
