Excel YEARFRAC Function

The Excel YEARFRAC function returns the year fraction representing the number of whole days between start_date and end_date serial numbers.

This function is useful for calculating the portion of a whole year for use in other calculations and is particularly useful in HR/employee related calculations.

Excel YEARFRAC Function Syntax

Syntax: =YEARFRAC(start_date, end_date, [basis])
start_date A date in a format Excel recognises known as the date-time serial number, or text
end_date A date in a format Excel recognises known as the date-time serial number, or text
[basis] This optional argument allows you to specify the day count method from the list of options below. If omitted, it defaults to 0. Excel YEARFRAC Function 1
 

Excel YEARFRAC Function Examples

Excel YEARFRAC Function 2

Tip: You're most likely to use basis 1, unless your business uses a specific system.

Note 1: #NUM! Errors are returned if the basis argument is <0 or >4.

emoticonNote 2: Only the date portion of a date-time serial number is used by YEARFRAC. Any time element is ignored. As a result, only whole days are returned.

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