EDATE Function - Google Sheets

The EDATE function takes a starting date and a number as its input. It then increments (or decrements) the date by the number of months that you specify.

This formula can be helpful because not all months have the same number of days. Additionally, February has a different number of days depending on the year. The EDATE function accounts for all of these differences. If the number of months you provide has decimals, it is truncated instead of rounded so keep it as a whole number.

Dates require special care when used in formulas as they don’t behave as regular numbers do in spreadsheets.

Contents

1 Video Explanation
2 Purpose
3 Syntax
4 Examples

Video Explanation

YouTube Video Tutorial on the EDATE Function

Purpose

The EDATE function adds or subtracts a given number of months to a given date.

Syntax

=EDATE(start date,number of months)

start date – The starting date from which the calculation begins. Remember how dates work in formulas so that you know how to enter this date.
number of months – The number of months by which to increase/decrease the starting month

Examples

Example 1 – In the Same Month

Firstly, below is a simple explanation of the EDATE function.

Formula	Description	Result
`=EDATE(“5/17/2017”,13)`	Add 13 months to 5/17/2017	6/17/2018
`=EDATE(“5/17/2017”,-2)`	Subtract two months from 5/17/2017	3/17/2017

The EDATE function can go forward and backward in time.

Example 2 – Knowing the Number of Days in a Month

Secondly, this example shows how the EDATE function knows the number of days each month. Consequently, knowing the number of days takes away the chore of manually adding the days.

Note that the second function is DATE and not EDATE.

Formula	Description	Result
`=EDATE(“5/17/2017”,3)`	Add three months to 5/17/2017	8/17/2017
`=DATE(2017,5,17)+31+30+31`	Add three months to 5/17/2017	8/17/2017

Note how much easier it is to use the EDATE function.

Example 3 – Days in a Leap Year

Lastly, the EDATE function knows the number of days in a leap year. Note the two dates highlighted below that are one day different.

Formula	Description	Result
`=EDATE(“2/17/2015”,1)`	Add 1 month to 2/17/2015	3/17/2015
`=EDATE(“2/17/2016”,1)`	Add 1 month to 2/17/2016	3/17/2016
`=DATE(2015,2,17)+28`	Add 28 days to 2/17/2015	3/17/2015
`=DATE(2016,2,17)+28`	Add 28 days to 2/17/2016	3/16/2016

Live Examples in Sheets

Go to this spreadsheet for the examples of the EDATE function shown above that you can study and use anywhere you would like.

EDATE Function – Google Sheets