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

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. Continue reading →

Comments page 2. Total comments: 4830

  1. I would like to have an IF formula that does the following.

    If the word check appears in G then the value in H should be the value of F
    If the word check does not appear in G then the value in H should be F + G

    Here are the cells
    $23.00 $(1.29) $24.29
    $23.00 check $23.00

  2. Im sorry ahead of time if its hard to understand my question, but how do I get the cell to fill with "N/A" if another cell says "Annual"?

    Also if the cell that says "annual" says anything else how do I get it to allow me to just put a number in the same cell that would've said "N/A"?

    Thank you in advance for your time.

    1. Hi! You can show a value in a cell by condition using the IF function. To do this, carefully read the article above. You can manually enter any other value into this cell and replace the formula with it.

      1. Thank you,

        I have the formula, =IF(H5>=96, "EWQ", IF(H5>=90, "Outstanding", IF(H5>=80, "Satisfactory", "Unsatisfactory"))), but Im unsure how to add in the same formula for the input of "N/A" in H5 to give the output of "N/A" in the requested formula. I was just trying to find something more specific to inputs that were numbers and letters, and where in the formula should the letters go.

  3. When using the following command, how do I get the result "Service required" to display in red text?
    =IF(J3<6;"Service required";"Service up to date")

    1. if one cell in excel contains :5" and next cell contains "Decrease" than next column will apear "5-"

    2. Hello Johan!
      The IF formula does not allow you to change color and formatting of a cell. Conditional formatting allows you to change color of a cell depending on its value. You can find the examples and detailed instructions here: Excel Conditional Formatting tutorial with examples and Two ways to change color in Excel based on cell value.
      Example of a conditional formatting formula depending on the result of an IF formula:

      =K1="Service required"

      You can also change the color depending on the values in column J. Follow this instruction: Excel conditional formatting formulas based on another cell.

      =J1<6

  4. Hi! Is this possible to use if function in this situation?

    Like overtime hours is:
    1:19 how can I get a result to this 1.25 hours in decimal?

    And what is the formula to get night differential in morning time in like this:
    time in is 3:00am how can get 3hours of night differential?

    Thank you

      1. Hi! I already get the formula to my question. But I have another question how can I round off the time 9:15am to 9:59am is equal to 10:00am?

        Thank you.

          1. Thank you for your response. Can you help me this one?

            Time in: 6:46am
            Time out: 11:22am

            I can't get the correct total number of working hours if I use this formula
            =(B1-A1)*24

            The result appear is 14:24hours it should be 4:36hours

            The regular time formula is the same result If I use this formula
            =MIN(8,C1)
            It appears also 14:24

  5. Hi all,

    I need to use an if formula that need to have in the return value if true and value if false, both a phrase and a value from a cell (better if the format of the number is showing as accounting).

    Ex.:=IF('page1'!O39>0,"Please see attached. Increased day over day by 'page1'!O39 ,Please see attached. Decreased day over day by 'page1'!O39")

  6. Hi all I need help
    No is 0 to 1000, I need 3 results,
    1 if the calculated no is less than 350 then use it , if more use 350.
    2 if the calculated no is more than 350 but less than 500, use it, less the 350, if more use 500
    3 if the calculated no is more than 500, use that no , less the 500
    Tks

  7. Hi,
    the apostrophe in true/false options has solved many of my problems
    thanks and regards

  8. Hello, I am trying to populate a cell with another cell value only if the cell is more than $0, but I can't find a formula to do this. I do not need it colored, or yes,no, or true,false. I need the value of the cell only if it's positive. Can someone help me?

    1. Hi! You cannot replace a value in a cell with another value using an Excel formula. You can do it manually or by using VBA. You can get the value you want in another cell using the recommendations in the article above.

      1. Alexander I tried the formulas above, but I do not need a true or false. I was thinking a formula with the IF function, like =IF(A2>0,"A2") but that does not work. It doesn't populate the value of the cell, it populates whatever I put inside the "", so in this case A2. Technically I could use =A2 but I need it to only populate if the value is over $0 because if the value is negative is going to affect the other calculations.

        1. Hi! Please read the above article carefully. If you are specifying a cell reference, do not use quotation marks. In your formula - "A2" is text, not a reference.

          =IF(A2>0,A2,"")

  9. Im trying to maka a table that has this conditions
    percentage A B C
    100% 200 180 150
    95-99% 170 150 120
    90-94% 150 120 90
    85-89% 120 90 60
    80-84% 50 20 0
    79% and below 0 0 0

    How can easily get results from this table when i encode class and percentage
    class percentage result
    Person 1 A 93% _______

    Result shoudl be 150

    1. Hello Angela!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following tutorial should help: INDEX MATCH MATCH to search in rows and columns.
      However, you can't search for the number 93 in column A because it is text, not numbers.
      If you write a value of 100, 99, 94, 89, 84, 79 in column A, you can use a formula like this:

      =INDEX(B2:D6, MATCH(G1,A2:A6,-1), MATCH(G2,B1:D1,0))

      You can learn more about MATCH function in this article on our blog: Excel MATCH function with formula examples.
      This should solve your task.

  10. Hi everybody, I have a question. Suppose if in an office the cut-off time is 9:00 am. If a staff entered office at 9:00 AM he will be marked "on time" in attendance sheet. but he entered at 9:05 AM, he will be marked "LATE". But if some one is on leave, how to formulate this in the attendance sheet with the two conditions mentioned before?

  11. Hi, i have a problem in excel formula.
    If, -528 less -590 / -590 = 62
    i want the result in percentage with positive sign instead of negative.

    Thanks.

  12. I am trying to create an if formula. I have 10 questions on column A. Column B I have yes and no for each of the 10 questions. On column C, I need to create a formula that if all the questions are "yes", 40%, if there is a no, it should be 0. Can you help me?

  13. if formula if(a =>12,48,50),of(b=>12,42,45) how to resolve the query

  14. Hi.. for logical_test, can it be in formula?

  15. Hello. I need formula to check if the item in the this tab, can be find in the other tab. Result will be yes or no

  16. I need a formula in cell H4 that divides H14 by H24 but if the value is greater than 100 enter 100 but if less than 100 then enter the true value of H14/H14.

    Thank you

    1. Hi! All the necessary information is in the article above. Here is an example formula:

      =IF(H14/H24>100,100,H14/H24)

      1. That did not work. Returns an error.

  17. Hi,
    I have 2 questions.

    1. I have employees that will be resigning effective June 20, 2024. They are currently tagged as "Active". I want excel to tag them as "Separated" come June 20. What do I do?
    2. I have employees that are still active, did not resign yet. Since there are no resignation date in the column, I want to tag them still as "Active" What do I do?

    Thank you.

  18. I need help with a formula that where the value in B4 is multiplied by either rates in (C2,D2,E2) if it is greater than a range of specific cells (C1, D1, E1). Example if B4=45, total will be 225.00 (C1*C2). Thank you.

    C1:45
    C2:5.00
    D1:100
    D2:4.00
    E1:300
    E2:2.00

    B4: 45

    B8: total

      1. Thank you for your reply but it isn't calculating the way I would like it to. The formula provided is adding the cells with 5.25 and 5.00 then multiplying cell B4 which isn't correct. The output i'm looking for is that B4 would be multiplied 5.00 since it is greater than 100. Hopefully this is much clearer, thank you.

        45 100 300 500 1000
        5.25 5.00 4.95 4.90 4.80

        B4: 105

        B5: TOTAL

        1. Hi! The formula I sent to you was created based on the description you provided in your first request. However, as far as I can see from your second comment, your task is now different from the original one.
          If I understand correctly, find the maximum number that is less than B4 using the MAX function and MATCH function. Then extract the corresponding value from the range C2:E2 using INDEX MATCH.

          =INDEX(C2:E2,MATCH(MAX((C1:E1

          1. I apologize for not explaining it clearly. I used the formula but it says I'm missing a parenthesis. Also, where would I enter B4 in the formula?

            1. Please disregard as I don't think it can be done.

    2. Sorry total will be 225.00 (B4*C2) not C1.

  19. Hi. Can you please help for IF/THEN.

    IF A1=X1, then show what is in cell Z1.

      1. Sir, Good evening!

        Sir i have one question, may be you can solve this.

        Sir,
        According in if function,

        If cell is blank then we can use - this cell number ="" ( that's ok)
        If cell will be number format /test format =?? ( how we show ?)

    2. Disregard.. I figured it out.

  20. in excel I want to enter a value (1 and above in one cell), and it should display 1 (value) in another cell. It should display 0 if the supplied value is 0.

  21. this is great god job thank you for sharing.

  22. Hi, I have values in two coloums i.e. in row 1, the value is in Col A and from row 2 to 10, the value is in Col B. Which formula can be used to call the required values from both Col A and B and return the value in Col C. Thanks.

    1. Hi! It is impossible to guess how you want to call required values. You can use the VLOOKUP formula to search multiple columns as described in this article. You can also combine multiple columns into a single column using the VSTACK function. There may be other solutions depending on what you want to do.

      1. Hello, Alex! I have two lists; an authorized user list and a transaction list. On the transaction list, it gives the name of who authorized the transaction. I already completed a VLOOKUP to have the authorized user's name next to the user who authorized the transaction. Now, I need to filter the data to show unauthorized transactions. I was thinking an easy IF statement would be the answer, but the wall I am hitting is stumping me. The names on the authorized user list have a couple names of who has authorization.
        Example: (A3)Authorized: Hayes, (B3)Authorizer: Hayes/Lopez.
        As you can see, Hayes is on the authorized list so he should be fine. My If statement is =IF(A3=B3,"Authorized","Unauthorized"). It seems the = is only giving me an EXACT match. Is there a way I can make the IF statement work?

        1. Hi! If I understand the question correctly, you want to determine if the text strings in cells A3 and B3 are partial matched. Based on the information provided, the formula could look like this:

          =IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(A3,B3)),"Authorized","Unauthorized")

          For more information, please read: How to find substring in Excel

      2. Thank you for your prompt response

  23. Good Day,

    I have prepared a salary sheet with dates in a row and name of employee in the column, I want to get the total sum of salary Only of Today() (everyday in the same cell)
    =IF(T10="P", ((G10*1)+(U10*(G10/9))), "0") then sum of all the employees but this works only on one day.

    how may I automate it, please.

  24. I have a table for vacation for employee
    I would like to enter the day that start with month and year than it will automatically add the week date (which will start Sunday)
    Also in the table when a cell is selected it will subtract from the total of weeks each person have.

    Please help

  25. Hi
    Newbie question sorry....I have a column containing a number of text names equating to project status. As follows: onboarding, offboarding, leaving etc... (With a different designated numerical value to each)

    I.e Onboarding 5, Offboarding 3, Leaving 1 etc

    I would like to create an IF statement as a form of lookup to check the text name in the column against the list/values and display said value in a new column. I am wondering if this is the best way to do this? have started with the following..... =IF(E2="onboarding","5") .... but am wondering how to add the other names and values... and if this is actually possible?

    Again, a new user so scrabbling about without a lot of time to study the options...

    Any suggestions welcome.

  26. i need an if stmt to perform:

    IF cell E4 > 120
    then cell E36 = (E4-120)/8)
    ELSE
    cell E36 = 0

  27. Hi, i need to separate a mix column similar to this one. into 3 columns, (name, date, yes/no).
    Column is
    first, last
    11/27/2023
    Unapproved
    11/28/2023
    Unapproved
    Unapproved
    Unapproved
    12/6/2023
    Unapproved

    b, d
    12/1/2023
    Unapproved
    Unapproved
    12/2/2023
    Unapproved
    Unapproved

    needs to look something like this
    first, last 11/27/2023 unapproved
    first, last 11/28/2023 unapproved
    first last 11/28/2023 unapproved
    first last 11/28/2023 unapproved
    first last 12/6/2023 unapproved
    b, d 12/1/2023 Unapproved
    b, d 12/1/2023 Unapproved
    b, d 12/2/2023 Unapproved
    b, d 12/2/2023 Unapproved

    1. Hi! Unfortunately your data has no one pattern or regularity. Looks like this is not possible with the standard Excel options.

      1. Could you write three individual loops/statement in three different columns and the final condition is blank for the rows for the name and the date but in the row for the unapproved/approve in it. that row will place the name-date-condition??

        I have stated trying to solve this: =IF(A10="Unapproved", "Unapproved", "")

        1. Hi! Your question is not entirely clear to me. Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need.

  28. Hi, i need to use the IF function for a total score of more than 45 but less than 55 and a total score of more than 55 but less than 60

  29. I have 5 sell prices for each item in excel and I need to write an IF statement to see if they all match. Can you help?

  30. Hi, I need to write an IF statement for a column in which I already have some values which need to remain unchanged if the corresponding cell in the C column reads 'TRUE'. However, if the coresponding cell in the C column reads 'FALSE', then the cell must return 'NULL'. e.g C2 contains 'FALSE', therefore D2 will write 'NULL'. However, C4 contains 'TRUE', therefore the existing number in D4 '0.29' should remain unchanged. I can't find any logic which allows me to do this? The examples given use "" which returns a blank cell.

    1. Hi! An Excel formula can only return a value to the cell in which it is written, and it cannot return a value to another cell. A previously written value in a cell cannot be changed by an Excel formula. This can be done with VBA. For example, you can use a formula in the E column to either set the value to NULL or to get the value from the C column. For example:

      =IF(C2=FALSE,"NULL",D2)

  31. Thank you Alexander for this wonderful tutorial
    Your help is needed;

    From this excel function, IF(W54<20,0,IF(W54<31,2,IF(W54<51,4,IF(W54<76,6,IF(W54<100,7,IF(W54=100,8,0))))))
    I need your help with inserting a multiplicator into the IF function above to return values for 370, 400, 650, 275 and 914
    Is it possible to insert a multiplier to auto calculate up to a 1000 from the base IF function at the top?
    Thank you

    1. Hi! If I understand your question correctly: Instead of cell W54, you can use the cell range W54:W58 in the formula, where these five numbers will be written. The result will be an array of values.

  32. Hi, I am looking for a formula to add the following “rules” to a work sheet. If D count 50 if FW count 100, so in other words I want to add the value of 50 to D and the value of the 100 to FW. Can anyone help?

    1. Hi! How to perform calculations by conditions is described in detail in the article above. According to your explanations it is impossible to recommend you a formula, because it is not clear what D and FW are.

  33. i am Looking for a formula pls

    If C1 contain the text "Clarke", the value in C2 must be auto copied to C3. Is this possible?

    1. =IF(C1="Clarke",C3=C2,"") something like that. the end " " is a place holder, it depends on what you want to do if C1 doesnt = clarke

      1. Read carefully how to use the IF function. Your formula is not correct. Just write formula IF(C1="Clarke",C2,"") in cell C3.

    2. Hi! I recommend you to read carefully the instructions on how the IF function works with text. It can be found in the article above.
      IF(C1="Clarke",C2,"")

  34. How can I protect a formula in a field with a drop-down list aswell. Basically by IF/AND formula answers the value of "Not applicable" if the two preceding columns are both answered as "No", but if either of the two preceding columns have a "Yes", then I need people to be able to pick an option from the drop-down list, whichever is appropriate, but when you do, it wipes out the IF formula, so if the person entering data realise that maybe this miss-entered the values on the two preceding columns and it is actually both meant to be "No", then I want the IF formula to kick in and answer "Not applicable", but it won't because once you've selected something for the drop-down list, the formula is lost. not sure if I'm asking for too much, but thought I'd give it a go, maybe you have an easy solution.
    Thanks,

    1. Hello! A drop-down list writes a text value into a cell. When it does this, it clears all the previous contents of the cell. Using VBA, you can try to create a dropdown list if certain conditions are met. In this case, if the conditions are not met, the drop-down list does not exist.

  35. Need assistance trying to reconcile two source documents using 3 common conditions to match them. what's the best formula i can use?

  36. Hi, I hope you can help, in need of the following. A1 Date of Hire
    A2 Date of Term
    A3 calculate 12 months from A1 but if A2 has a date A3 would remain blank. (Using date driven for FMLA eligibility)
    A4 to show 480 hrs if A3 is 12 months from A1 as of todays date

    I hope I’ve explained it properly.

    1. Hi! I hope you have studied the recommendations in the tutorial above. It contains answers to your questions.
      To add 12 months to a date, use these instructions: Add months to date in Excel. For example:

      =IF(ISBLANK(A2),DATE(YEAR(A1), MONTH(A1) + 12, DAY(A1)),"")

      1. Thank you, I truly appreciate your help and knowledge.
        I should have mentioned that I am using seveal worksheets with vlookup to bring or have data follow.
        The DOH and TERM are vlookup, here is my formula that those cells have:
        =IF(ISERROR(VLOOKUP(A11,'Sheet1'!$A$3:$AI$335,9,FALSE)),"",IF(LEN(VLOOKUP(A11,'Sheet1'!$A$3:$AI$335,9,FALSE))=0,"",VLOOKUP(A11,'Sheet1'!$A$3:$AI$335,9,0)))

        The recommendation doesn't work with ISBLANK when there is a formula? Unless I'm missing it?

        2. Oh, I'm sure I'm making this more complicated than I should :)

          1. Took your advice and re-read the tutorial..
            My answer: =IF($G22"", "Term", EDATE(F22,12))

            THANK YOU!!!

  37. Hi, I have the criteria for a negative samples as <0.3. <0.3 is what is written in the cell. I want to say that if I70 is less than 0.3 then mark it as positive and if not mark it as false. Now I know that I could do IF(I70<0.3, "True", "False") but the difficulty is that I have a table whereby negative is 0.3 but this is all being extracted from a much larger table. This is all for an automated sheet to process a huge amount of data so I don't want to have to change the formula for each sample if you can follow. How can I write the equation so it responds to '<0.3' that is in the cell?

  38. I need to automate the cells using IF function
    For example : I have client and environment and DB instance details in separate excel, so based on client and environment it should tell us what should be the (it should automatically pick) DB instance name in excel
    Client : ball
    Environment : dev
    DB instance name : ?

  39. If My Value falls

    Up to $10000 apply 2.5%
    $10000 - $25000 apply 2.25%
    $25001 - $50000 apply 2%
    $50001 - $100000 apply 1.75%
    $100001 - $200000 apply 1.25%
    $200001 - $500000 apply 1%
    Greter than $500000 apply .75%

    How to write excel query?

  40. im trying to do a table for auditing a cash box, how do i make something that says IF the amount is less than given amount show "short" if its over, show "drop" and show me the amount its over

  41. Hi there,
    So I have the column for overtime hours rendered by our staff, next to it is the column remarks if the rendered overtime is saturday, holiday, and regular day. Then I have for column ROT, Holiday, and rest day. To avoid manually encode the OT hours if it's under ROT, Holiday and rest day, I need a formula for that. for example, if the overtime hours is with remarks of saturday, the figure will be in the column of rest day, if regular day under ROT and if holiday under holiday.
    thanks for the help

  42. HI ,
    I want to calculate Gratuity for the employees in the company and i have the difference between the joining date and the last day working day as a value to check it and implement into 4 Columns (options) , first column if the (value >=365 and less than 1095) , second column if the value >= 1095 and less than 1825 , third column if value >=1825 then till 1825 will be calculated in third column and more than 1825 will be calculated in fourth column , the major idea from the two comparisons for each to avoid the duplicate of the values in the other columns if we consider value 1850 >=365 for example will be calculated in all 4 columns .

    Thanks in advance .

      1. Thanks for your assistance . it was very helpful .

  43. I want to calculate a value for example:
    A1 has 100 and B1 and C1 can have 0 or any positive number
    Next A2 should be A1 minus (B1+C1) how to use if and else formula for this

    1. Hi! There is no "else formula" in Excel. It is not clear from your question why IF should be used here. Try A1-(B1+C1). Or describe the problem in more detail.

  44. Is there a way to write a formula that would state - If this number (in cell A2) is 25% less than another number (say in cell D2), give me a yes? Conversely, If A2 is 25% greater than D2, say yes.

  45. how do I make a formula that is like the match formula but instead of it saying match and don't match it would be a certain color like if it doesn't match then it would stay white but if it did match then it would be red

  46. I am comparing if 2 cells (text) match, if they match, then I copy the value from another cell that is a text, if not, just write "Input information".
    This is the formula that I am writing:
    =(EXACT(A2,B2),D2,"Input information")

    When I press enter it shows me the equation instead of the options.
    When I go to "Evaluate Formula" in the Formula menu, the message says: The cell currently being evaluated contains a constant.
    Columns A, B are formatted as General and column D as Text.

  47. Hi there, New to learn formula's on my own and looking for some help.
    Basically.... Im looking for a formula for the below....
    Table of data have been created B54:D78 - 3 columns, 25 rows.
    My selected cell is I8

    If Column I7 says ICU (B73), enter data from C73 in selected cell

    Hoped this make sense. Ive been trying for hrs ... Im missing something - just font know what ....

    Thank you in advance

    1. Its all good - I worked it out... I have copied below in case anyone was wondering...

      =IF(ISNUMBER(MATCH(H6,B$54:B$78,0)),INDEX(C$54:C$78,MATCH(H6,B$54:B$78,0)),"")

      Thanks for this page... have learnt so much already .. :)

  48. Hello People,
    Please help me with the below query

    Suppose I have 4 Remarks column have different remarks

    Col D - RNR
    Col G - Interested
    Col V - Payment not processed
    Col W - Onboarded

    How do i get the latest remarks in Col Z - I.e. Onboarded.

  49. I'm trying to do a if function but use a formula. Is this possible or is it another function i should be using?
    =IF(H12="RO","0","=SUM(I12-H12-I13)")

  50. Hi, I have different city names and I want to group it in different state by using IF function - pls support
    For Example, if one cell has the city name as "X" / "Y" / "Z" should be named as "Apple", If "A" / "B" / "C" as "Orange", so on - how to do it

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