Calculate Date/Time Difference, Age, & Add/Subtract

Handling dates and times in Excel might seem daunting, but it's a crucial skill when dealing with time-series data. This tutorial will guide you through DateTime calculations, such as calculating differences, calculating age, and adding/subtracting dates and times.

1. Calculating the Difference Between Two Dates or Times

1. If you have two dates in cells A1 and B1, the difference between them is simply =B1-A1.
2. If you want to know the number of days, hours, or minutes, you can use the DATEDIF function. For example, =DATEDIF(A1, B1, "d") gives the number of days.

For more detailed examples, check out Microsoft's guide on DATEDIF.

2. Calculating Age

To calculate someone's age based on their birth date:

1. If the birth date is in cell A1, the formula would be =INT((TODAY()-A1)/365). This gives the age in years.

Microsoft provides a more comprehensive guide on how to calculate age.

3. Adding/Subtracting Dates and Times

Excel stores dates as sequential serial numbers, so you can add or subtract them by adding or subtracting integers.

1. For example, to add three days to the date in cell A1, you would use =A1+3.
2. To subtract, you would use =A1-3.

For a detailed guide on adding and subtracting dates, refer to this Microsoft page.

Mastering DateTime calculations in Excel can significantly enhance your data analysis and data cleaning abilities. With these tips and functions, handling dates and times should be much more straightforward.