TODAY / NOW
=TODAY() or =NOW()
Return today's date (TODAY) or current date and time (NOW). Auto-update on every workbook recalculation. Use TODAY() for date-only fields.
TODAY / NOW Guide →Date & Time Functions
Date arithmetic for birthdays, fiscal years, deadlines, and scheduling. Excel treats dates as numbers under the hood — once you understand that, everything else clicks.
💡 First, understand this: Excel stores dates as numbers
Every date in Excel is actually a serial number counting from January 1, 1900. 1/1/1900 is 1. 1/2/1900 is 2. January 1, 2026 is 45,658. This is why you can subtract two dates and get "days between" — Excel is just doing arithmetic on numbers.
Times are stored as decimal fractions of a day. 12:00 PM is 0.5. 6:00 AM is 0.25. A date+time value like Jan 1, 2026 at noon is 45,658.5. This makes all date/time math simple subtraction and addition.
The essential five
DATE
=DATE(year, month, day)
Build a date from separate year, month, and day values. Essential when constructing dates from split data or dynamic year/month inputs.
DATE Complete Guide →EOMONTH / EDATE
=EOMONTH(start, months)
Get the last day of a month N months forward/back (EOMONTH) or the same date N months later (EDATE). Financial modeling favorites.
EOMONTH / EDATE Guide →NETWORKDAYS
=NETWORKDAYS(start, end, [holidays])
Count business days between two dates, excluding weekends and any listed holidays. Essential for deadlines, SLAs, and project planning.
NETWORKDAYS Guide →Browse by sub-group
Current Date/Time
2 functions
Volatile functions that return the current moment. Recalculate constantly.
Constructing Dates
3 functions
Build dates or times from separate components.
Extracting Parts
7 functions
Pull the year, month, day, hour, minute, or second from a date/time value.
Date Math
5 functions
Shift dates forward or back, get month-ends, calculate differences.
Working Days
4 functions
Business day calculations — skip weekends and holidays for realistic project scheduling.
Week & Year Info
4 functions
Get the week number, ISO week, or fraction of a year for aggregations and reports.
Frequently asked questions
Why does subtracting two dates give a number instead of a date?
Because Excel dates are numbers. =B2-A2 gives you the number of days between them. That's usually what you want. If it shows as a strange date, right-click the cell → Format Cells → Number.
Why does my CSV date show as text and formulas fail?
Excel didn't recognize the format. Use DATEVALUE(A1) to convert, or use Data → Text to Columns → Date to convert in bulk. Common cause: European DMY format on a US Excel that expects MDY.
How do I calculate age from a birthdate?
Use =DATEDIF(birthdate, TODAY(), "Y") for years, or =YEARFRAC(birthdate, TODAY()) for fractional years. DATEDIF is hidden — it works but doesn't autocomplete.
How do I get the last day of the current month?
=EOMONTH(TODAY(), 0) — the zero means "current month". Use 1 for next month's end, -1 for previous month's end.
Why does NETWORKDAYS treat Saturday as a workday?
It doesn't — NETWORKDAYS excludes Saturday and Sunday by default. If you're seeing that behavior, you may need NETWORKDAYS.INTL to specify a non-standard weekend (e.g., Friday-Saturday for Middle East markets).
Date logic without the headaches.
Describe your date calculation — "days between today and next quarter-end excluding weekends and US holidays" — and get the exact formula.
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