The EDATE function returns the date that is a certain number of months away from the start date as a number.
This function can be useful for financial planning, calculating timelines, and analyzing data.
Syntax
EDATE(start_date, months)
Argument |
Description |
Permitted values |
|---|---|---|
start_date |
The date from which the countdown begins |
A number or date (can be a reference to a cell containing a date, a function that returns a date or number value) |
months |
Number of months before the specified value “start_date” (negative value) or after it (positive value) |
Any integer or reference to a cell containing a number |
Examples of use
If you want to find out what date will be 3 months after March 15, 2025, you can use the function as follows:
=EDATE("03/15/2025", 3)
This expression will return June 15, 2025.
If you want to find out the date that was 2 months ago from March 15, 2025, use:
=EDATE("03/15/2025", -2)
This expression will return January 15, 2025.
Processing of the last days of the month
If the start date is the last day of the month:
=EDATE("01/31/2024", 1)
Result: February 29, 2024 (the date is automatically adjusted to the last day of the following month).
Notes
–Make sure that the date value is in the correct format, otherwise the function will return the #VALUE! error.
–The function automatically adjusts the date if the target month has fewer days (for example, January 31 + 1 month = February 28 or 29).
–To obtain the last day of the month, use the EOMONTH function.