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How to add years to a date in Excel and Google Sheets
Excel & Google Sheets
=DATE(YEAR(A2)+B2,MONTH(A2),DAY(A2))Try it with your data
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Step by step
- 1Enter your start date in A2 and the number of years to add in B2.
- 2In a result cell, enter =DATE(YEAR(A2)+B2,MONTH(A2),DAY(A2)).
- 3This reconstructs the date with the year incremented by B2, keeping the same month and day.
- 4Format the result cell as a date if it shows a number.
- 5To hardcode: =DATE(YEAR(A2)+5,MONTH(A2),DAY(A2)) adds exactly 5 years.
Tips
- For Feb 29 leap day edge cases, Excel and Sheets automatically roll forward to March 1 when the target year is not a leap year. This is usually the desired behavior.
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Frequently asked
Can I use EDATE to add years?
Yes. =EDATE(A2, B2*12) adds B2 years by converting years to months. Both approaches give identical results for most dates.
Why not just add 365 days to add a year?
Adding 365 is inaccurate for leap years. In a leap year the year has 366 days, so you would land one day short. DATE(YEAR+1,...) always lands on the exact same calendar date next year.