How to use IF function in Excel: examples for text, numbers, dates, blanks

In this article, you will learn how to build an Excel IF statement for different types of values as well as how to create multiple IF statements.

IF is one of the most popular and useful functions in Excel. Generally, you use an IF statement to test a condition and to return one value if the condition is met, and another value if the condition is not met.

In this tutorial, we are going to learn the syntax and common usages of the Excel IF function, and then take a closer look at formula examples that will hopefully prove helpful to both beginners and experienced users.

IF function in Excel

IF is one of logical functions that evaluates a certain condition and returns one value if the condition is TRUE, and another value if the condition is FALSE.

The syntax of the IF function is as follows:

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

As you see, IF takes a total of 3 arguments, but only the first one is obligatory, the other two are optional.

Logical_test (required) - the condition to test. Can be evaluated as either TRUE or FALSE.

Value_if_true (optional) - the value to return when the logical test evaluates to TRUE, i.e. the condition is met. If omitted, the value_if_false argument must be defined.

Value_if_false (optional) - the value to return when the logical test evaluates to FALSE, i.e. the condition is not met. If omitted, the value_if_true argument must be set.

Basic IF formula in Excel

To create a simple If then statement in Excel, this is what you need to do:

  • For logical_test, write an expression that returns either TRUE or FALSE. For this, you'd normally use one of the logical operators.
  • For value_if_true, specify what to return when the logical test evaluates to TRUE.
  • For value_if_false, specify what to return when the logical test evaluates to FALSE. Though this argument is optional, we recommend always configuring it to avoid unexpected results. For the detailed explanation, please see Excel IF: things to know.

As an example, let's write a very simple IF formula that checks a value in cell A2 and returns "Good" if the value is greater than 80, "Bad" otherwise:

=IF(B2>80, "Good", "Bad")

This formula goes to C2, and then is copied down through C7: Basic IF formula in Excel.

In case you wish to return a value only when the condition is met (or not met), otherwise - nothing, then use an empty string ("") for the "undefined" argument. For example:

=IF(B2>80, "Good", "")

This formula will return "Good" if the value in A2 is greater than 80, a blank cell otherwise: IF formula to return nothing when the condition is not met.

Excel If then formula: things to know

Though the last two parameters of the IF function are optional, your formula may produce unexpected results if you don't know the underlying logic.

If value_if_true is omitted

If the 2nd argument of your Excel IF formula is omitted (i.e. there are two consecutive commas after the logical test), you'll get zero (0) when the condition is met, which makes no sense in most cases. Here is an example of such a formula:

=IF(B2>80, , "Bad")

To return a blank cell instead, supply an empty string ("") for the second parameter, like this:

=IF(B2>80, "", "Bad")

The screenshot below demonstrates the difference: The behavior of the value_if_true argument.

If value_if_false is omitted

Omitting the 3rd parameter of IF will produce the following results when the logical test evaluates to FALSE.

If there is just a closing bracket after value_if_true, the IF function will return the logical value FALSE. Quite unexpected, isn't it? Here is an example of such a formula:

=IF(B2>80, "Good")

Typing a comma after the value_if_true argument will force Excel to return 0, which doesn't make much sense either:

=IF(B2>80, "Good",)

The most reasonable approach is using a zero-length string ("") to get a blank cell when the condition is not met:

=IF(B2>80, "Good", "") The behavior of the value_if_false argument.

Tip. To return a logical value when the specified condition is met or not met, supply TRUE for value_if_true and FALSE for value_if_false. For the results to be Boolean values that other Excel functions can recognize, don't enclose TRUE and FALSE in double quotes as this will turn them into normal text values.

Using IF function in Excel - formula examples

Now that you are familiar with the IF function's syntax, let's look at some formula examples and learn how to use If then statements in real-life scenarios.

Excel IF function with numbers

To build an IF statement for numbers, use logical operators such as:

  • Equal to (=)
  • Not equal to (<>)
  • Greater than (>)
  • Greater than or equal to (>=)
  • Less than (<)
  • Less than or equal to (<=)

Above, you have already seen an example of such a formula that checks if a number is greater than a given number.

And here's a formula that checks if a cell contains a negative number:

=IF(B2<0, "Invalid", "")

For negative numbers (which are less than 0), the formula returns "Invalid"; for zeros and positive numbers - a blank cell. A formula to check if a cell contains a negative number.

Excel IF function with text

Commonly, you write an IF statement for text values using either "equal to" or "not equal to" operator.

For example, the following formula checks the Delivery Status in B2 to determine whether an action is required or not:

=IF(B2="delivered", "No", "Yes")

Translated into plain English, the formula says: return "No" if B2 is equal to "delivered", "Yes" otherwise. Using the IF function with text.

Another way to achieve the same result is to use the "not equal to" operator and swap the value_if_true and value_if_false values:

=IF(C2<>"delivered", "Yes", "No")

Notes:

  • When using text values for IF's parameters, remember to always enclose them in double quotes.
  • Like most other Excel functions, IF is case-insensitive by default. In the above example, it does not differentiate between "delivered", "Delivered", and "DELIVERED".

Case-sensitive IF statement for text values

To treat uppercase and lowercase letters as different characters, use IF in combination with the case-sensitive EXACT function.

For example, to return "No" only when B2 contains "DELIVERED" (the uppercase), you'd use this formula:

=IF(EXACT(B2,"DELIVERED"), "No", "Yes") Case-sensitive IF statement for text values.

If cell contains partial text

In situation when you want to base the condition on partial match rather than exact match, an immediate solution that comes to mind is using wildcards in the logical test. However, this simple and obvious approach won't work. Many functions accept wildcards, but regrettably IF is not one of them.

A working solution is to use IF in combination with ISNUMBER and SEARCH (case-insensitive) or FIND (case-sensitive).

For example, in case "No" action is required both for "Delivered" and "Out for delivery" items, the following formula will work a treat:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("deliv", B2)), "No", "Yes") IF cell contains partial text.

For more information, please see:

Excel IF statement with dates

At first sight, it may seem that IF formulas for dates are akin to IF statements for numeric and text values. Regrettably, it is not so. Unlike many other functions, IF does recognize dates in logical tests and interprets them as mere text strings. In other words, you cannot supply a date in the form of "1/1/2020" or ">1/1/2020". To make the IF function recognize a date, you need to wrap it in the DATEVALUE function.

For example, here's how you can check if a given date is greater than another date:

=IF(B2>DATEVALUE("7/18/2022"), "Coming soon", "Completed")

This formula evaluates the dates in column B and returns "Coming soon" if a game is scheduled for 18-Jul-2022 or later, "Completed" for a prior date. Excel IF statement with dates.

Of course, there is nothing that would prevent you from entering the target date in a predefined cell (say E2) and referring to that cell. Just remember to lock the cell address with the $ sign to make it an absolute reference. For instance:

=IF(B2>$E$2, "Coming soon", "Completed")

To compare a date with the current date, use the TODAY() function. For example:

=IF(B2>TODAY(), "Coming soon", "Completed")

Excel IF statement for blanks and non-blanks

If you are looking to somehow mark your data based on a certain cell(s) being empty or not empty, you can either:

  • Use the IF function together with ISBLANK, or
  • Use the logical expressions ="" (equal to blank) or <>"" (not equal to blank).

The table below explains the difference between these two approaches with formula examples.

  Logical test Description Formula Example
Blank cells =""

Evaluates to TRUE if a cell is visually empty, even if it contains a zero-length string.

Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.

 =IF(A1="", 0, 1)

Returns 0 if A1 is visually blank. Otherwise returns 1.

If A1 contains an empty string (""), the formula returns 0.
ISBLANK()

Evaluates to TRUE is a cell contains absolutely nothing - no formula, no spaces, no empty strings.

Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.

 =IF(ISBLANK(A1), 0, 1)

Returns 0 if A1 is absolutely empty, 1 otherwise.

If A1 contains an empty string (""), the formula returns 1.
Non-blank cells <>"" Evaluates to TRUE if a cell contains some data. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.

Cells with zero-length strings are considered blank.

 =IF(A1<>"", 1, 0)

Returns 1 if A1 is non-blank; 0 otherwise.

If A1 contains an empty string, the formula returns 0.
ISBLANK()=FALSE Evaluates to TRUE if a cell is not empty. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.

Cells with zero-length strings are considered non-blank.

 =IF(ISBLANK(A1)=FALSE, 0, 1)

Works the same as the above formula, but returns 1 if A1 contains an empty string.

And now, let's see blank and non-blank IF statements in action. Suppose you have a date in column B only if a game has already been played. To label the completed games, use one of these formulas:

=IF(B2="", "", "Completed")

=IF(ISBLANK(B2), "", "Completed")

=IF($B2<>"", "Completed", "")

=IF(ISBLANK($B2)=FALSE, "Completed", "")

In case the tested cells have no zero-length strings, all the formulas will return exactly the same results: IF statement for blank and non-blank cells.

Check if two cells are the same

To create a formula that checks if two cells match, compare the cells by using the equals sign (=) in the logical test of IF. For example:

=IF(B2=C2, "Same score", "") Check if two cells contain the same values.

To check if the two cells contain same text including the letter case, make your IF formula case-sensitive with the help of the EXACT function.

For instance, to compare the passwords in A2 and B2, and returns "Match" if the two strings are exactly the same, "Do not match" otherwise, the formula is:

=IF(EXACT(A2, B2), "Match", "Don't match") Case-sensitive IF formula to check if two cells match.

IF then formula to run another formula

In all of the previous examples, an Excel IF statement returned values. But it can also perform a certain calculation or execute another formula when a specific condition is met or not met. For this, embed another function or arithmetic expression in the value_if_true and/or value_if_false arguments.

For example, if B2 is greater than 80, we'll have it multiplied by 7%, otherwise by 3%:

=IF(B2>80, B2*7%, B2*3%) IF formula that runs another formula.

Multiple IF statements in Excel

In essence, there are two ways to write multiple IF statements in Excel:

  • Nesting several IF functions one into another
  • Using the AND or OR function in the logical test

Nested IF statement

Nested IF functions let you place multiple IF statements in the same cell, i.e. test multiple conditions within one formula and return different values depending on the results of those tests.

Assume your goal is to assign different bonuses based on the score:

  • Over 90 - 10%
  • 90 to 81 - 7%
  • 80 to 70 - 5%
  • Less than 70 - 3%

To accomplish the task, you write 3 separate IF functions and nest them one into another like this:

=IF(B2>90, 10%, IF(B2>=81, 7%, IF(B2>=70, 5%, 3%))) Nested IF statement.

For more formula examples, please see:

Excel IF statement with multiple conditions

To evaluate several conditions with the AND or OR logic, embed the corresponding function in the logical test:

For example, to return "Pass" if both scores in B2 and C2 are higher than 80, the formula is:

=IF(AND(B2>80, C2>80), "Pass", "Fail")

To get "Pass" if either score is higher than 80, the formula is:

=IF(OR(B2>80, C2>80), "Pass", "Fail") Excel IF statement with multiple conditions.

For full details, please visit:

If error in Excel

Starting from Excel 2007, we have a special function, named IFERROR, to check formulas for errors. In Excel 2013 and higher, there is also the IFNA function to handle #N/A errors.

And still, there may be some circumstances when using the IF function together with ISERROR or ISNA is a better solution. Basically, IF ISERROR is the formula to use when you want to return something if error and something else if no error. The IFERROR function is unable to do that as it always returns the result of the main formula if it isn't an error.

For example, to compare each score in column B against the top 3 scores in E2:E4, and return "Yes" if a match is found, "No" otherwise, you enter this formula in C2, and then copy it down through C7:

=IF(ISERROR(MATCH(B2, $E$2:$E$4, 0)), "No", "Yes" ) If error formula in Excel.

For more information, please see IF ISERROR formula in Excel.

Hopefully, our examples have helped you get a grasp of the Excel IF basics. I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next week!

Practice workbook

Excel IF statement - formula examples (.xlsx file)

Table of contents

4804 comments

  1. Hi,can you help me with formula if for this condition, if F3=A,D3=1,the result for H3=C3 & if F3=A,D3>1 the result for H3=-1 in 1 formula if. Thank you :)

    • Hi Pichan,

      Here is the formula for H3 as per your conditions. If nether condition is met, it will return a blank cell (empty string).

      =IF(AND(F3="A", D3=1), C3, IF(AND(F3="A", D3>1), -1, ""))

  2. Hi, im trying to place a formula that, according to a "word" I can get a number as true or false value.
    ex.: A1= Casa .......... B1= If=(A1Casa,"2","5"), something like that.

    Thanks in advanced. :)

      • Yes,sorry...... but I get a warning that I shoud put an apostrophe, but is possible to make work somehow?

        • Most likely this is because you have ";" set as a List separator (you can check this in the Regional settings). If this is the case, then try =IF(A1="Casa"; 2; 5)

          • Sweeeeet, perfect, thanks Svetlana :)

            • Sorry again, work at prefection, but something else that I want to know if possible, Is possible also to make a Image to show in a cell linked to a word in a formula?, if possible can you direct me to a link of how to do it?, thanks again :)

  3. =(D3/B3)if(B3="0"),D3,E3 I get error please help
    D3=hour B3=Sales E3=final number

    • Hi Daniel,

      Sorry, I cannot follow you. Can you explain the condition (logical test), please?

  4. Hi Clarence,

    Here you go:
    =IF(AND(E20<J21, E20<D21), MAX(F11:F15), "")

    • it's not working :'(

  5. hi , can you help with my sheet ? I can't translate it to codes in excel .this is how i read it "if e20 is less than j21 and d21 , i should get the cell with the highest value in f11 to f15 cells . thanks .

  6. HELP! :( Working on a sheet I have made a drop down in a cel and I would like the cel next to it to enter text if a certain word is selected in the drop down, is this possible?!?! I am not very good at explaining so I can try my best with whatever questions you have!

    • For example, if the drop down menu is selected Oranges I want cel G to now have Bananas in it, but if from the drop down Grapes is selected I want cel G to now say Grapes, and so on and so on, honestly have 27 so far in the drop down and need an IF in G if something is in the drop down menu, is this possible?!?!

      • Hi Ryan,

        If you want a cell next to your drop down list to display the same value as currently selected in the drop-down, all you need is a simple formula like =$A$1 where A1 is the drop-down cell.

        If you want to display different values, then you should use nested IF functions, like this:

        =IF(A1="bananas", "bananas2", IF(A1="oranges", "oranges2", IF(A1="grapes", "grapes2")))

  7. =IF(AH5>69, AG5*5, IF(AH5>59, AG5*4,IF(AH5>49, AG5*3,IF(AH5>44, AG5*2,IF(AH5>39, AG5*1,IF(AH569) and so on.
    pls, can you help

    • Hi Fred,

      The formula looks good. You just need to finish it properly, by closing all IF statements. I.e. the number of closing brackets should match the number of opening ones. Also, in the value_if_false argument of the last IF, enter the value to display when none of the conditions are met - it's an empty string ("") in the example below:

      =IF(AH5>69, AG5*5, IF(AH5>59, AG5*4, IF(AH5>49, AG5*3, IF(AH5>44, AG5*2, IF(AH5>39, AG5*1, IF(AH5>29, AG5, ""))))))

  8. Hi! I am trying to use an IF Formula to provide me a date result.

    =IF(H2=S, [Approval]+(7*[Estimated weeks from Start to Approval]),IF(H2=P, [Start]+(7*[Estimated weeks from Start to Approval])))

    I'm not sure what to enter at the end for the result to show a date.

    Thanks!

  9. Thank you Svetlana!!!

  10. Hi Svetlana, It would be great if you could help, I think I'm nearly there but getting frustrated :)

    =IF(AND((E4-AG4>=5),50,0),IF(AND(E4-AG4<=-5),50,0))

    I'm building a sports sheet, whereby E4 is the actual spread and AG4 is the predicted spread. If the predicted spread is within +5 0r -5 then 50 points are awarded.

    Appreciate your help
    Kind regards
    Barry

    • Hi Barry,

      The correct syntax of your formula is as follows:
      =IF(AND(E4-AG4<=5, E4-AG4>=-5), 50, 0)

      And you can make it even more simpler by using the ABS function that returns an absolute value regardless of the sign:

      =IF(ABS(E4-AG4)<=5, 50, 0)

  11. Hi,

    Thank you in advance for your time. I am trying to creat an IF formula with a logic test that recognizes the most current date in the row and if the date is within 6 days of the todays date another cell will indicate NOT AVAILABLE

    So far I have IF(???>6;AVAILABLE;NOT AVAILABLE)

    I dont know how to create the date formula for the row only for a specific cell.

    Thank you

    • Hi Stephanie,

      You should use the MAX function to determine the most recent date in a row and then compare it with TODAY(). For me to be able to suggest the right formula, please clarify the conditions. I assume "within 6 days of the todays date" means within the next 6 days, right? And what shall the formula display if the most current date in the row is a past date? And what if it is more than 6 days in the future?

      • Row A: Will show "Open" if the date entered in any cell in that row is more than 6 days from the current date or show "Closed" if ay date in the row is within 6 days of the current date (future or past).

        So far I have =IF(??-TODAY()>6;"OPEN";"CLOSED")

        Thank you

        • Hi Stephanie,

          Try this one:

          =IF(ABS(TODAY()-MAX(A2:N2))<6, "open","closed")

          Where A is the first and N is the last column containing dates.

  12. Hi,

    How would I write the formula to get the following:

    If A1 IS BETWEN 1 & 3 then "q1" however if between 4 & 6 then Q2, If between 7 & 9 then q3...

    Thanks!

    Mishaal

    • Hi Michelle,

      You can use a nested IF formula similar to this, beginning with the largest values:

      =IF(AND(A1>=7, A1<=9), "q3", IF(A1>=4, "q2", IF(A1>=1, "q1", "")))

      If there is no upper-bound limit, it can be simplified it to:

      =IF(A1>=7, "q3", IF(A1>=4, "q2", IF(A1>=1, "q1", "")))

  13. Hi,

    How would I write the formula to get the following:

    If A1 3 but 6 BUT 9 But <=12 "Q4"

    THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOU HELP!!

    Michelle

  14. Hi,
    i shall appreciate if you could please guide me as to how I can use IF function formula while making general journal (Accounts) to auto post entries into respective ledgers(account heads/expense heads) ?
    I look forward for a positive response.

    Thank you,

    Danish Abbasi

    • Hi Danish,

      Please try to explain the task from another viewpoint. In what columns do you have data, and where do you want to auto post data and based on exactly what conditions?

  15. Hi,

    I have a drop down selection in Column M with the choices: "China - UK", "China - EU", "China - ME"

    In column P I have a formula: =INDEX(Products!M:M,MATCH(C5,Products!$B:$B,0)) to automatically populate the duty rate for bringing into UK/EU - this is a variable percentage depending on the product.

    If in the drop down "China - ME" is selected I want to override column P with conditional formatting to show 5% which is constant for all products

    I tried to put the two formulas in priority order on conditional formatting

    =IF(M5="China - ME", "5%", "0") - selected stop if true
    =INDEX(Products!M:M,MATCH(C5,Products!$B:$B,0))

    Can you please tell me where I am going wrong?

    Kind regards,

    Alex

  16. Hi Svetlana,

    Could you please help me with my question below?
    I'm collecting in 1 sheet customers feedbacks from 7 different languages (sheets).
    So in the same colomn A, I have the answers "Yes, Oui, Ja, Si, No, Non, Nein...." or "Non, No, Nain...".
    The formula works fine for 1 language "=IF(A2="SI",1,0)" but do not know how to add the others..I would need number 1 to appear if it's an answers "Yes, Ja, Si, oui.. and a 0 if it's a "Non, No, Nain...".
    Any idea how can I compile all of this in one formula please?
    That would be much appreciated if you could help with this.

    Thanks a lot,

    Erin

    • Hi Erin,

      You can add multiple OR conditions in your logical test, like this:

      =IF(OR(A2="SI", A2="Yes", A2="Ja"), 1, 0)"

      • Hi, what if the cells are multi-word strings and I want to have anything that contains, (e.g.) 'blue', 'green' or 'purple' return 'cool' and everything else 'warm'.
        For example:
        light blue (cool)
        burnt orange (warm)
        forest green (cool)
        etc.
        thanks

  17. Hi,

    i need the if condition formula for the below i need to allocate some of the qty so if total qty is less 5000 need allow 25 Pcs like details are below

    Qty Allow Qty

    12500 400

  18. I have values in cells E6,H6,K6,N6,Q6 & T6 that I want added together. The values in these cells are from vlookups from other sheets in the workbook. Any of those 6 values (E6,H6,K6,N6,Q6 &T6) could contain a blank or have returned nothing as a result of the vlookup. I need to total these numbers but if I put a simple addition formula in I get an error because of the possible blanks. I am thinking it needs to be a complex nested if sentence but can't figure out how to tell it that I need it to add all the numbers and discount those that are blanks or empty cells.

  19. = IF(A10,A1, IF(A20,A2,IF(A30,A3,"BAD")))

    BAD is mean all 3 cells are blank

    • Hi!

      Sorry, I am not sure I can follow you. Can you explain the conditions (logical tests), please?

  20. first of all ,thanks in advance for the people whom create these very nice tutorials.I wanted to do math operation on the results of nested IFs.how could it possible with one formula??? my formula is as this:
    =IF(HOUR(D26)> 0; HOUR(D26)*45357; IF(MINUTE(D26)> 0; MINUTE(D26)*755.95; IF(SECOND(D26)> 0; SECOND(D26)*12.6; 0)))
    ---------I wana add a statement to above formula in order to sum the true values , it calculate the first but ignores others!!!! I wanna sum hour+minute+second

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