Date and time
TODAY function playground
Returns today's date, updated whenever the sheet recalculates.
The playground runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How TODAY works
TODAY takes no arguments but still needs the empty parentheses. It returns the date as a serial number formatted as a date, so you can do arithmetic with it.
Subtracting dates gives the number of days between them. The result changes every day, so don't use TODAY for a date that should stay fixed; type the date instead.
Syntax
=TODAY()Examples
| Formula | What it does | Result |
|---|---|---|
=TODAY() | Today's date. | depends on today's date |
=B2-TODAY() | Days left until each due date. | 173 · 68 · 27 · 587 |
=IF(B2<TODAY(),"Overdue","Upcoming") | Status for each item. | Upcoming · Upcoming · Upcoming · Upcoming |
=TODAY()+30 | The date 30 days from now. | depends on today's date |
Common mistakes
A date that keeps changingTODAY recalculates, so an invoice date made with it changes tomorrow. Press Ctrl+; to enter a fixed date.
Result shows as a dateA subtraction may pick up date formatting. Format the cell as General to see the number of days.
Related functions
Learn more
Download the example workbook (.xlsx)
The workbook has the same sample data and formulas, plus a practice sheet.