# How to find the next upcoming date in a list in Excel

Take the smallest date on or after today: `=MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1)`, with today in E1.

**Excel:** `=MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1)` (Excel 2019 and later, including Microsoft 365)

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

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D | E |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Event | Date |  | Today | 2026-10-29 |
| Quarterly review | 2026-10-15 |  | Next event |  |
| Holiday party | 2026-12-11 |  |  |  |
| Board meeting | 2026-11-05 |  |  |  |
| Product launch | 2027-01-20 |  |  |  |
| Team offsite | 2026-10-30 |  |  |  |
| Budget deadline | 2026-09-30 |  |  |  |

Formula in E2: `=MINIFS(B2:B7,B2:B7,">="&E1)`

Result: 10/30/2026

## 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.

## Other ways

- `=MIN(FILTER(B2:B7,B2:B7>=E1))`: The same with FILTER.
- `=SMALL(B2:B7,COUNTIF(B2:B7,"<"&E1)+1)`: 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.

## 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)`.

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/next-upcoming-date-in-a-list