Excel guide · 3 min read

How to subtract in Excel

Q: What is the subtraction formula in Excel?

Use a minus sign: =A1-B1. There is no SUBTRACT function. For several cells, use =A1-SUM(B1:B5).

Q: How do I calculate the days between two dates?

Subtract them: =B2-A2. Use DATEDIF for months or years and NETWORKDAYS for working days.

Q: How do I show a negative difference as a positive number?

Wrap it in ABS: =ABS(B2-C2). Use this only when the direction does not matter.

Quick answerType = and put a minus sign between the values, for example =B2-C2, then press Enter. To take several cells away from one number, use =B2-SUM(C2:C5). Dates subtract the same way and give the number of days between them. To take a percentage off a number, multiply instead: =B2*(1-15%).

Sample data

Every result on this page was calculated from this sheet by the same spreadsheet engine the Cellwise app uses.

	A	B	C	D	E	G	H
1	Department	Budget	Actual	Margin 2025	Margin 2026	Project start	Mar 16, 2026
2	Marketing	42000	45380	0.18	0.225	Project end	Nov 2, 2026
3	IT	68500	61240			Discount	0.15
4	HR	19750	19750
5	Facilities	33000	35915

Method 1: the minus sign

Excel has no SUBTRACT function. You use - between numbers or cells, and the order matters: =B2-C2 is budget minus actual, so a negative result means overspent. Decide on one direction for the whole sheet and label the column, for example "Under (+) / over (-) budget".

=B2-C2

Result: -3380

-3,380: Marketing spent 3,380 more than its budget.

Subtract a range or one total from another

To take many cells away from one number, add them up first: =B2-SUM(C2:C5) instead of =B2-C2-C3-C4-C5. It is shorter and does not break when you insert a row. To compare two columns in total, subtract one SUM from the other.

If you only care about the size of the gap, not its direction, wrap it in ABS: =ABS(B3-C3) gives 7,260 for IT.

=SUM(B2:B5)-SUM(C2:C5)

Result: 965

965 under budget across all four departments.

Subtract a percentage from a number

To take 15% off, multiply by 1 minus the percentage. Writing =B2-H3 subtracts 0.15 from 42,000, giving 41,999.85, which is the classic mistake. Keep the rate in its own cell and lock it with $ when you fill down: =B2*(1-$H$3).

=B2*(1-$H$3)

Result: 35700

35,700: the Marketing budget after a 15% cut.

Subtract percentages: points vs percent change

Marketing margin went from 18% to 22.5%. E2-D2 gives the difference in percentage points: 4.5 points. That is not the same as "margin grew 4.5%". The relative change is (new - old) / old, which here is 25%.

Say which one you mean in the column header. Mixing them up is the most common error in reports.

=E2-D2

Result: 0.045 shows as 4.5% with Percent format

0.045, which shows as 4.5% (4.5 percentage points). =(E2-D2)/D2 gives the 25% relative increase.

Subtract dates

Dates are numbers of days, so the end date minus the start date gives the days between them. Format the result as General or Number: if it shows as a strange date, Excel copied the date format to the result.

For whole months use =DATEDIF(H1,H2,"m") (7 here), and for working days use =NETWORKDAYS(H1,H2), which counts Monday to Friday including both end dates (166 here). To go back in time, subtract a number of days: =H2-7.

=H2-H1

Result: 231

231 days from March 16 to November 2, 2026.

Subtract times

Times work the same way: =C2-B2 gives the hours between a start and end time. Format the result as [h]:mm so totals over 24 hours do not wrap around, or multiply by 24 to get decimal hours for pay calculations, =(C2-B2)*24.

For a shift past midnight, add 1 day when the end looks earlier than the start: =MOD(C2-B2,1). A plain negative time shows as ##### because Excel cannot display negative times by default.

Common mistakes

Subtracting 15 instead of 15%

=B2-15% takes away 0.15, not 15% of B2. Use =B2*(1-15%).

Result of a date subtraction shows as a date

Excel copied the date format. Set the cell to General (Home > Number Format) to see the number of days.

#VALUE! when subtracting dates

One of the dates is text, often from an import. Check with =ISNUMBER(H1) and convert it with DATEVALUE or Text to Columns.

A pasted dash instead of a minus sign

Dashes such as – or — are not minus signs. Retype the - from the keyboard.

FAQ

What is the subtraction formula in Excel?

Use a minus sign: =A1-B1. There is no SUBTRACT function. For several cells, use =A1-SUM(B1:B5).

How do I subtract a whole column from a number?

Write =$E$1-A2 next to the first value and fill down. To change the values in place, copy the number and use Paste Special > Subtract.

How do I calculate the days between two dates?

Subtract them: =B2-A2. Use DATEDIF for months or years and NETWORKDAYS for working days.

How do I show a negative difference as a positive number?

Wrap it in ABS: =ABS(B2-C2). Use this only when the direction does not matter.

Functions used

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Updated November 2, 2026