TODAY and DAYS
Work out the days left until each deadline. The answers must change by themselves as the days go by.
keyboard Typing formulas is easiest on a computer with a keyboard.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deadline | Date | Days left | |
| 2 | Office move | 1 Aug 2027 | ||
| 3 | Conference | 28 Jul 2027 | ||
| 4 | Audit | 8 Dec 2027 | ||
| 5 | Insurance renewal | 21 Aug 2027 | ||
| 6 | Product launch | 28 Jun 2027 | ||
| 7 | Tax return | 14 Jun 2027 | ||
| 8 | ||||
| 9 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
| 11 | ||||
| 12 |
How TODAY and DAYS works
What does
TODAYdo?=TODAY()gives today's date. It has no parts, but the brackets are still needed. It updates by itself every time the workbook recalculates, so a sheet opened tomorrow shows tomorrow's date.How do I count the days until a date?
Subtract today from it:
=B2-TODAY(). Because dates are numbers, the answer is a number of days. A negative answer means the date has passed.What does
DAYSdo?The same subtraction, written as a function with the end date first:
=DAYS(B2,TODAY()). Some people find it easier to read.What else uses
TODAY?- Ages:
=DATEDIF(B2,TODAY(),"Y"). - Overdue flags:
=IF(B2<TODAY(),"Overdue",""). - Highlighting dates that are close, with conditional formatting.
- Ages:
How do I enter today's date so it doesn't change?
Press Ctrl+; (semicolon). That types today's date as a fixed value, which is what you want for "date received" columns.
TODAY() is for things that should move with the calendar.What if the answer shows as a date?
If Excel formats the result as a date (like 14 Jan 1900), change the cell's format to General or Number: the value is a count of days.
Know someone fighting with a spreadsheet? Send them this page.