# How to add days to a date in Excel

Add the number to the date: `=B2+C2`. Dates are counts of days, so this moves the date forward that many days.

**Excel:** `=B2+C2` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Order | Order date | Delivery days | Expected delivery |
| SO-5101 | 2026-03-27 | 5 |  |
| SO-5102 | 2026-02-24 | 7 |  |
| SO-5103 | 2026-12-28 | 10 |  |
| SO-5104 | 2026-06-15 | 21 |  |
| SO-5105 | 2026-08-30 | 3 |  |

Formula in D2, filled to D6: `=B2+C2`

Result: 4/1/2026; 3/3/2026; 1/7/2027; 7/6/2026; 9/2/2026

## How it works

A date is stored as the number of days since a starting point, so adding a number moves it forward that many days, across month and year ends: December 28 plus 10 days is January 7. Add a negative number, or subtract, to go back.

## Other ways

- `=WORKDAY(B2,C2)`: Counts business days instead and skips weekends. Add a holiday range as a third argument. (Skips Saturdays and Sundays.)
- `=DATE(YEAR(B2),MONTH(B2),DAY(B2)+C2)`: Builds the same date from its parts; DATE rolls extra days into the next month.

## Common mistakes

- If the result shows as a number like 46113, format the cell as a date.
- If it shows a date in 1900, the days column is formatted as a date. Format column C as a number.
- A date stored as text gives #VALUE! or a wrong result. Convert it with DATEVALUE first.

## Questions

**How do I subtract days from a date?**

`=B2-C2`, or add a negative number.

**How do I add days to today?**

`=TODAY()+C2`.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/add-days-to-a-date