Excel Subtraction Formula
Excel has no SUBTRACT function. You subtract with the minus sign -.
Subtract two cells
=C2-B2
Subtract several cells
=B2-C2-D2 =B2-SUM(C2:E2)
The second form is cleaner when you're taking many values away from one number.
Subtract a percentage
=B2*(1-10%)
Subtract dates
=C2-B2 on two dates gives the number of days between them. Format the result as a number, not a date.
Practice: budget variance
Variance (actual minus budget) is a classic interview task. Take the free Excel interview test →