Date
YEAR
Definition
YEAR returns the year number of a date.
Syntax
=YEAR(serial_number)
Arguments
| Argument | Meaning |
|---|---|
serial_number |
A date, or the cell holding it. |
Worked example
A museum logs opening days. The dates are in B2:B4.
| A: Event | B: Date |
|---|---|
| Open day | 4 Nov 2021 |
| Night tour | 8 Mar 2023 |
| Fair | 20 Oct 2023 |
Formula: =YEAR(B2)
Result: 2021. 4 November 2021 falls in 2021.
Practice
Cell A2 holds the date 15 June 2024. In B2, write a formula that returns the year of that date.
- In B2, write a YEAR formula for A2.
- B2 should show the year of A2.
Step 1 of 2
Enter =YEAR(A2) in B2.
A2 is 15 June 2024, so the year is 2024.
Formulas here use English function names, such as SUM, and a period as the decimal separator, in every language.
Loading the sheet…
B2 uses YEAR.
B2 now shows 2024.
Related functions
YEAR reads the year from a date that DATE built, or from TODAY when you want the current year.
Common mistake
Feeding YEAR a text that only looks like a date, such as 2021-11-04 typed as text: YEAR then returns #VALUE! instead of 2021.