How to find the next upcoming date in a list in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1)Take the smallest date on or after today: =MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1), with today in E1.
- Result on the example
- 10/30/2026 in
E2 - Works in
- Excel 2019 and later, including Microsoft 365
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in E2. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
MINIFS returns the smallest date that meets the condition, and the condition keeps only the dates on or after today. The smallest of the future dates is the next one: the October 30 team offsite.
=MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1)Result46325
B2:B76 rows × 1 col: 10/15/2026, 12/11/2026, 11/5/2026, 1/20/2027, …A range: 6 cells in one column.
E110/29/2026The value in E1.
">="&E1">=46324"The & operator joins as text.
MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1)46325MINIFS: Smallest value that meets every condition.- min_range
B2:B76 rows × 1 col: 10/15/2026, 12/11/2026, 11/5/2026, 1/20/2027, … - criteria_range1
B2:B76 rows × 1 col: 10/15/2026, 12/11/2026, 11/5/2026, 1/20/2027, … - criteria1
">="&E1">=46324"
- min_range
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns 10/30/2026.
Other ways to do it
Each one was run on the same example sheet.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =MIN(FILTER(B2:B7,B2:B7>=E1)) | 10/30/2026 | The same with FILTER. |
| =SMALL(B2:B7,COUNTIF(B2:B7,"<"&E1)+1) | 10/30/2026 | Works in any version: skips the dates before today and takes the next smallest. |
Common mistakes
- MINIFS returns 0, shown as 1/0/1900, when nothing is upcoming. Wrap it:
=IF(COUNTIF(B2:B7,">="&E1),MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1),"None"). - Use ">" instead of ">=" if an event today shouldn't count as upcoming.
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.
Find the next upcoming date in a list
E2, return the next event date on or after the date in E1.Questions
How do I return the event name?
=XLOOKUP(E2,B2:B7,A2:A7).
How do I find the most recent past date?
=MAXIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,"<"&E1).
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.