Spreadsheet Practice

How to add years to a date in Excel

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

=EDATE(B2,C2*12)

Use EDATE with 12 months per year: =EDATE(B2,C2*12).

Result on the example
one result per row in D2, filled down to D6
Works in
Every current version
Google Sheets
Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in D2, filled down to D6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

EDATE moves a date by whole months, so C2*12 months is C2 years. When the day doesn't exist in the target year, EDATE stops at the month end: February 29, 2024 plus 5 years is February 28, 2029.

=EDATE(B2,C2*12)

Result4/18/2028 (46861)

  1. B24/18/2025

    The value in B2.

  2. C23

    The value in C2.

  3. C2*1236

    The * operator multiplies.

  4. EDATE(B2,C2*12)4/18/2028 (46861)

    EDATE: Date a number of months before or after.

    • start_dateB24/18/2025
    • monthsC2*1236

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: =EDATE(B2,C2*12). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=DATE(YEAR(B2)+C2,MONTH(B2),DAY(B2))4/18/2028, 3/1/2029, 9/1/2033…Different resultAdds to the year part directly. The same except for February 29, which rolls to March 1. February 29, 2024 plus 5 years becomes March 1, 2029.

Common mistakes

  • =B2+365*C2 drifts by a day for every leap year in between.
  • February 29 has no match in most years. EDATE uses February 28 and DATE rolls to March 1; pick the rule your contract uses.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Add years to a date

In D2, add the warranty years in column C to the purchase date, and fill down to D6.

Questions

How do I subtract years?

Use a negative number of months: =EDATE(B2,-12*C2).

How do I add years and months together?

Add them as months: =EDATE(B2,2*12+6) adds 2 years and 6 months.

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.