YEAR function

The YEAR function in Excel is used to extract the year from a given date. This function returns a four-digit year based on the input date.

Syntax

YEAR(serial_number)

Parameters

• serial_number: The date from which you want to extract the year. This is a required parameter. The date can be entered directly as a date, or you can use a cell reference containing a valid date.

How It Works

• The YEAR function takes a date as input and returns the year part of that date in a four-digit format (e.g., 2025).
• The date input can be a date serial number, a reference to a cell containing a date, or a result from another function that returns a date.

Examples

1. Extract Year from a Date: If A1 contains January 1, 2025, you can extract the year from this date using:

   =YEAR(A1)
   

   This will return 2025.

2. Use with the TODAY Function: To get the current year based on today’s date, you can use the TODAY function inside the YEAR function:

   =YEAR(TODAY())
   

   This will return the current year (e.g., 2025), depending on the current date.

3. Extract Year from a Date Literal: You can directly use a date literal in the YEAR function. For example:

   =YEAR("12/25/2025")
   

   This will return 2025.

4. Extract Year from a Date Generated by Other Functions: If you use other functions that return a date, such as DATE, you can also extract the year. For example:

   =YEAR(DATE(2025, 12, 25))
   

   This will return 2025.

Common Use Cases

• Extracting Year for Sorting or Grouping: You can use the YEAR function to extract the year from a date and then use it for sorting or grouping data in PivotTables or charts.
• Financial Calculations: The YEAR function is useful for calculating fiscal years, financial reports, or comparing data across different years.
• Age Calculation: If you need to calculate someone’s age based on their birth date, the YEAR function can be part of the formula to determine the year of birth.

Important Notes

• The YEAR function works with any valid Excel date, which is internally represented as a serial number. Excel stores dates as serial numbers, where January 1, 1900 is serial number 1.
• If the input is not a valid date, Excel will return an error (usually #VALUE!).
• The YEAR function always returns a four-digit year.

Summary

The YEAR function in Excel is a simple but useful function that allows you to extract the year component from a given date. This is helpful in a variety of applications, including sorting, grouping data, and performing date-related calculations.