Excel Formula to Compare If a Date is Greater Than Another Date

Microsoft Excel has opened a new era in the field of automation of calculation. You can just apply features and create formulas and Excel will make hundreds of calculations in the blink of an eye! You can calculate the difference between dates and make a comparison via this software. Sometimes, you may need to create an Excel formula if one date is greater than another date. If this task bothers you, then this article will definitely make it easy for you. In this article, I will show you the formation of an Excel formula if one date is greater than another date.

Let’s say, we have a dataset of some Students who have to submit their assignments, the Date of Submission & the Deadline, and the Remarks (if the submission is on time or delayed).

From the date of submission, we want to find out if the assignment is submitted on time or delayed. If the date of Deadline is greater than the date of Submission, then we want to return “On Time” in the Remark section, and if not, we want “Delayed”

In this section, you will find 5 suitable ways to use the Excel formula if a date is greater than another date. I will demonstrate them one by one here. Let’s check them now!

1. Use the IF Function to Compare If a Date Is Greater Than Another in Excel

We will create a formula with the IF function when the Deadline is greater than the Submission Date. In order to demonstrate the method, proceed with the following steps.

Steps:

• First of all, type the following formula to the first cell (i.e. E5) in the Remark section.

Here,

• D5= the Date of Deadline
• C5= the Date of Submission

• Then, hit ENTER and the cell will show “On Time” as the Deadline is greater than the Date of Submission which means the assignment is submitted on time.

• Now, drag the Fill Handle tool to the cells below to Autofill the formula for the next cells.

• Hence, you will get the output for every cell you want.

2. IF-DATE Formula to Compare Two Dates in Excel

You can combine the IF and the DATE functions when one date is greater than another.

For our previous set of data, we will now use the IF and the DATE functions.

Here, we won’t compare the cell of Submission Date with the Deadline, rather will directly use the Deadline in the formula. For this purpose, follow the steps below.

Steps:

• Firstly, apply the following formula in the first cell of the remark section.

Here,

• DATE(2022,9,2)= the Date of Deadline
• C5= the Date of Submission

• Then, drag the formula for the other cells to get the same types of output.

3. Apply IF Function with AND Logic to Find Out Which Date Is Greater Between the Two

You can compare between dates with the use of AND logic in the formulation of the IF function.

The AND function returns TRUE when all the logic is true and returns FALSE when any of the logic is false.

For the dataset we have stated in the previous sections, let’s change it a bit. The deadline date has been ranged from 25-08-22 to 02-09-22.

Here, we will apply the IF function formulated with AND logic. So, let’s start the procedure.

Steps:

• Firstly, Apply the following formula to the selected cell in the Remark section.

Here,

• G5= The Start Date of Deadline
• G6= The End Date of Deadline
• C5= The Date of Submission

• Then, drag the Fill Handle tool for the other cells to get the result.

4. Combine IF and TODAY Functions

The combination of the IF and TODAY functions allows the comparison between two dates.

The TODAY function returns the date of today.

Let’s say, for the previous type of dataset, the deadline date is today, and you want to find out if the assignment is submitted today or will be submitted later.

If you want to see the application of these two functions, chase the steps below.

Steps:

• First of all, apply the following formula in the first cell of the remark section.

Here,

• TODAY()= the Date of Today
• C5= the Date of Submission

• Then, drag the Fill Handle tool to copy the formula for the next cells.

5. Apply Conditional Formatting Formula to Highlight Which One Is Greater Among Two Dates

For the same dataset, you can also apply the Conditional Formatting. Let’s say, we want to format the date of submission which has been submitted on time.

In order to do so, follow the steps below.

Steps:

• First of all, select the range of data > go to the Home tab> click Conditional Formatting> select New Rule.

• Then, the New Formatting Rule dialogue box will show up.
• Here, click Select a formula to determine which cells to format in the Select a Rule Type field and type the formula in the Format values where this formula is true field.

• Now, click Format.

• Here, the Format Cells pop-up will appear. Go to Fill> select a color> click OK.

• After that, click OK to close the New Formatting Rule box.

• Finally, the cells that match with the rule will be formatted as the color you have assigned.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice book from the link below.

Conclusion

In this article, I have tried to show you some Excel formulas if a date is greater than another date. I hope this article has shed some light on your way of applying formulas when comparing dates in an Excel workbook. If you have better methods, questions, or feedback regarding this article, please don’t forget to share them in the comment box.

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