How to calculate the days left in the year in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=DATE(YEAR(A2),12,31)-A2Subtract the date from December 31: =DATE(YEAR(A2),12,31)-A2.
- Result on the example
- one result per row in
B2, filled down toB6 - Works in
- Every current version
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in B2, filled down to B6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
DATE(YEAR(A2),12,31) is December 31 of the same year, and subtracting the date gives the days still to come, not counting the date itself. The leap day is included automatically: from February 29, 2028 there are 306 days left.
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =DATE(YEAR(A2),12,31)-A2. 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.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =EOMONTH(A2,12-MONTH(A2))-A2 | 364, 63, 0… | The same, using EOMONTH to reach December 31. |
Common mistakes
- Add 1 if today should count as a day left.
- Format the result as a number, or it shows as a date in 1900.
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.
Calculate the days left in the year
B2, calculate how many days are left in the year after the date in A2, and fill down to B6.Questions
How do I get the day number of the year?
=A2-DATE(YEAR(A2),1,0).
How do I show the percentage of the year left?
=(DATE(YEAR(A2),12,31)-A2)/(DATE(YEAR(A2),12,31)-DATE(YEAR(A2),1,0)).
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.