YEAR

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore everything you need to know about the YEAR function in Excel. The YEAR function is a date and time function that returns the year component of a given date as a four-digit number. This function is particularly useful when you need to extract the year from a date or when you want to perform calculations based on the year.

YEAR Syntax

The syntax for the YEAR function in Excel is as follows:

YEAR(serial_number)

Where:

• serial_number (required): This is the date from which you want to extract the year. It can be a date entered directly, a cell reference containing a date, or a formula that returns a date.

YEAR Examples

Let’s look at some examples of how to use the YEAR function in Excel.

Example 1: Extracting the year from a date

Suppose you have a date in cell A1, such as “12/31/2021”. To extract the year from this date, you can use the following formula:

=YEAR(A1)

This formula will return the value “2021”, which is the year component of the date in cell A1.

Example 2: Calculating the difference between two years

If you have two dates in cells A1 and B1, you can calculate the difference between the years of these dates using the YEAR function. For example, if A1 contains “1/1/2020” and B1 contains “12/31/2021”, you can use the following formula to find the difference in years:

=YEAR(B1) – YEAR(A1)

This formula will return the value “1”, which is the difference between the years 2021 and 2020.

Example 3: Using the YEAR function with other date functions

You can also use the YEAR function in combination with other date functions. For example, if you want to find the last day of the year for a given date in cell A1, you can use the following formula:

=DATE(YEAR(A1), 12, 31)

This formula uses the YEAR function to extract the year from the date in cell A1, and then the DATE function to create a new date with the same year, but with the month set to December and the day set to 31.

YEAR Tips & Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the YEAR function in Excel:

1. Remember that the YEAR function returns the year as a four-digit number. If you need to display the year as a two-digit number, you can use the TEXT function, like this: =TEXT(A1, “yy”).
2. If you want to extract the month or day from a date, you can use the MONTH and DAY functions, respectively.
3. When working with dates, it’s a good idea to format your cells as dates to avoid confusion and ensure that Excel correctly interprets your data.

Common Mistakes When Using YEAR

Here are some common mistakes that users make when using the YEAR function in Excel:

1. Using a text string that looks like a date instead of a valid date. Excel may not recognize the text string as a date, causing the YEAR function to return an error. To fix this, make sure you’re using a valid date or a cell reference containing a date.
2. Forgetting to format cells as dates. If your cells are not formatted as dates, Excel may not correctly interpret your data, leading to incorrect results or errors. To avoid this, format your cells as dates before using the YEAR function.

Why Isn’t My YEAR Function Working?

If your YEAR function isn’t working as expected, here are some possible reasons and solutions:

1. The date you’re using is not a valid date or is not recognized by Excel. Make sure you’re using a valid date or a cell reference containing a date.
2. Your cells are not formatted as dates. Format your cells as dates to ensure that Excel correctly interprets your data.
3. You’re using an incorrect formula syntax. Double-check your formula and make sure it follows the correct syntax: YEAR(serial_number).

YEAR: Related Formulae

Here are some related formulae that you might find useful when working with the YEAR function in Excel:

1. MONTH: This function returns the month component of a given date as a number between 1 and 12. Syntax: MONTH(serial_number).
2. DAY: This function returns the day component of a given date as a number between 1 and 31. Syntax: DAY(serial_number).
3. DATE: This function creates a date based on the specified year, month, and day. Syntax: DATE(year, month, day).
4. EDATE: This function returns a date that is a specified number of months before or after a given date. Syntax: EDATE(start_date, months).
5. EOMONTH: This function returns the last day of the month that is a specified number of months before or after a given date. Syntax: EOMONTH(start_date, months).

By mastering the YEAR function and its related formulae, you can efficiently work with dates in Excel and perform a wide range of calculations based on the year component of dates.