# How to use IF with percentages in Excel

Compare the calculated rate with a percentage in a cell: =IF((C2-B2)/B2>=$G$1,"On target","Below target"). 10% is stored as 0.1.

**Excel:** `=IF((C2-B2)/B2>=$G$1,"On target","Below target")` (Every current version)

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

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Region | Last year | This year | Result |  | Target growth | 0.1 |
| North | 120000 | 134500 |  |  |  |  |
| South | 98000 | 101200 |  |  |  |  |
| East | 75000 | 82500 |  |  |  |  |
| West | 143000 | 139900 |  |  |  |  |
| Central | 56000 | 63800 |  |  |  |  |

Formula in D2, filled to D6: `=IF((C2-B2)/B2>=$G$1,"On target","Below target")`

Result: On target; Below target; On target; Below target; On target

## How it works

`(C2-B2)/B2` is the growth as a fraction, 0.12 for 12%. A percentage in a cell is stored the same way, so 10% in `G1` is 0.1 and the comparison works directly. East grew exactly 10% and meets the target.

## Other ways

- `=IF(C2>=B2*(1+$G$1),"On target","Below target")`: Compares with last year plus 10%, which avoids dividing (and a #DIV/0! when last year is 0).
- `=(C2-B2)/B2`: The growth itself, shown as a percentage. (Shows the growth rates, such as 12.1% for North and -2.2% for West.)

## Common mistakes

- Typing 10 in `G1` instead of 10% sets a target of 1,000%. Check that the cell shows a % sign.
- `>="10%"` in quotes compares with text and fails. Use 10%, 0.1 or a cell.

## Questions

**What if last year is 0?**

The division returns #DIV/0!. Test for it first: `=IF(B2=0,"New",IF((C2-B2)/B2>=$G$1,"On target","Below target"))`.

**How do I show the growth and the verdict together?**

Join them: `=TEXT((C2-B2)/B2,"0.0%")&IF((C2-B2)/B2>=$G$1," (on target)"," (below)")`.

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/if-with-percentages