The EDATE function
Returns the same day a number of months before or after a date. In a shorter month it stops at the last day, so one month after Jan 31, 2024 is Feb 29.
Syntax
EDATE(start_date, months)- start_date
- The date to start from.
- months
- Months to move. A negative number goes back.
Examples
B1=TEXT(EDATE(DATE(2024,1,31),1),"mmm d, yyyy")
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 29, 2024 |
B1=TEXT(EDATE(DATE(2024,3,15),-3),"mmm d, yyyy")
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 15, 2023 |
B1=YEAR(EDATE(DATE(2024,3,15),24))
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026 |
Practice EDATE
Questions
How do I add months to a date in Excel?
Use =EDATE(A2,3) for three months later. Adding 30 or 90 days drifts, because months have different lengths; EDATE keeps the day of the month.
What is the difference between EDATE and EOMONTH?
EDATE keeps the day of the month, so Mar 15 becomes Apr 15. EOMONTH always returns the last day of the month, Apr 30.