How to Add Days to a Date in Excel

The simplest way: use the plus sign

To add days to a date in Excel, type the date in one cell, then in another cell type an equals sign, the cell with the date, a plus sign, and the number of days you want to add. For example, if your date is in cell A1 and you want to add 7 days, type =A1+7 in cell B1 and press Enter. Excel treats dates as numbers behind the scenes, so adding a whole number adds that many days.

This works because Excel stores every date as a serial number — January 1, 1900 is 1, January 2, 1900 is 2, and so on. When you add 7 to a date, you are adding 7 to that serial number, which moves the date forward by 7 days. The result shows as a date automatically if the cell is already formatted as a date. If it shows as a number instead, right-click the cell, select Format Cells, choose Date from the Category list, and click OK.

Key Takeaways

Add days to a date by typing =A1+7 in a new cell, where A1 contains your date and 7 is the number of days to add.
Excel stores dates as numbers, so addition works directly without needing a special function.
If the result shows as a number instead of a date, format the cell as a date using the Format Cells dialog.
The DATE function lets you add days when you want to build a date from separate year, month, and day values.
Subtracting days works the same way — use a minus sign instead of a plus sign.

Adding days when the date and number are in the same cell

Sometimes your date and the number of days to add are both in one cell, or you need to add days to a date that is part of a text string. In these cases, use the DATE function combined with the DAY, MONTH, and YEAR functions to break the date apart, add the days, and rebuild it.

For example, if cell A1 contains a date and you want to add 10 days to it, type =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1),DAY(A1)+10). This extracts the year, month, and day from the original date, adds 10 to the day value, and creates a new date from those parts. Excel automatically handles month and year rollovers — if you add days that push the date past the end of the month, it moves to the next month correctly.

Using the EDATE function to add months or years instead

If you need to add months or years rather than days, use the EDATE function. Type =EDATE(A1,3) to add 3 months to the date in A1, or =EDATE(A1,-6) to subtract 6 months. The second number can be positive or negative, and it counts months, not days.

EDATE is useful for calculating due dates, renewal dates, or contract end dates. If you add months to January 31, Excel moves to the last day of the target month — adding one month to January 31 gives February 28 (or 29 in a leap year), not March 3. This prevents dates from shifting unexpectedly when months have different numbers of days.

Copying the formula down to multiple rows

Once you have written a formula that adds days to one date, you can copy it to other rows without retyping. Click the cell with your formula, then drag the small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell down to the last row you want to fill. Excel adjusts the cell references automatically — if your formula was =A1+7, the second row becomes =A2+7, the third becomes =A3+7, and so on.

Alternatively, click the cell with the formula, press Ctrl+C to copy it, then select the range of cells where you want the formula to appear and press Ctrl+V to paste. This is faster when you have many rows. The formula updates the cell references for each row, so each date gets the same number of days added to it.

Subtracting days from a date

Subtracting days works exactly like adding them — use a minus sign instead of a plus sign. If you want to find the date 14 days before the date in A1, type =A1-14 in a new cell. This is useful for calculating when a task should start if it needs to be done by a certain date, or for finding the date a payment was due based on when it was received.

You can also subtract dates from each other to find how many days apart they are. Type =A2-A1 to find the number of days between the date in A1 and the date in A2. The result is a whole number representing the days between them. If the result shows as a date instead of a number, format the cell as a number by right-clicking, selecting Format Cells, choosing Number from the Category list, and clicking OK.

Handling dates that are entered as text

If your dates are stored as text instead of as actual dates, the plus sign method will not work. You can tell because the cell is left-aligned instead of right-aligned, or the formula returns an error. To convert text to a date, use the DATEVALUE function, which tells Excel to read a text string as a date.

Type =DATEVALUE(A1)+7 to add 7 days to a date stored as text in A1. DATEVALUE recognizes most common date formats — "1/15/2024", "January 15, 2024", and "15-Jan-2024" all work. If your dates use an unusual format, you may need to use the TEXT function to reformat them first, or manually convert a few cells to show Excel what format you are using, then use the fill-down feature to explore the same format to the rest.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The most common mistake is forgetting to format the result cell as a date. If you type =A1+7 and the result shows as 45000 instead of a date, the formula is working correctly — Excel is just displaying the serial number instead of the formatted date. Right-click the cell, select Format Cells, choose Date, pick your preferred format, and click OK. The number will when ready become a readable date.

Another mistake is mixing text dates with number dates. If some of your dates are text and others are actual dates, formulas may work on some rows and fail on others. Use DATEVALUE on the entire column to convert all text dates to real dates first, then use the straightforward addition formula. A third common issue is using the wrong function — remember that EDATE adds months, not days, and DATE requires you to specify year, month, and day separately rather than just adding a number.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I add days and the date goes into the next year?

Excel handles this automatically. If you add 100 days to December 15, 2024, the result is March 24, 2025. You do not need to do anything special — the formula works across month and year boundaries without any extra steps.

Can I add a different number of days to each row?

Yes. If the number of days to add is in a different column for each row, reference that cell in your formula. For example, if dates are in column A and the days to add are in column B, type =A1+B1 in column C. Copy this formula down, and each row will add its own number of days to its own date.

How do I add business days only, excluding weekends?

Use the WORKDAY function. Type =WORKDAY(A1,5) to add 5 business days to the date in A1, skipping Saturdays and Sundays. You can also add a third argument to exclude specific holidays — for example, =WORKDAY(A1,5,C1:C10) adds 5 business days while skipping any dates listed in cells C1 through C10.

Why does my formula show an error when I add days to a date?

The most likely reason is that your date is stored as text, not as a date. Try wrapping it in DATEVALUE: =DATEVALUE(A1)+7. If that does not work, check that the cell actually contains a date — click it and look at the formula bar to see what is really stored there. Dates should be right-aligned in their cells; text is left-aligned.

Can I add days to today's date?

Yes. Type =TODAY()+7 to get the date 7 days from today. TODAY() is a function that always returns the current date, so the formula updates automatically each day. This is useful for calculating important date or reminders based on the current date.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.