YEAR
Date & Time
Extracts the year from a date as a four-digit number.
Translations
EnglishYEAR
FrenchANNEE
SpanishAÑO
GermanJAHR
ItalianANNO
PortugueseANO
DutchJAAR
PolishROK
RussianГОД
TurkishYIL
CzechROK
HungarianÉV
SwedishÅR
DanishÅR
FinnishVUOSI
Syntax
YEAR(serial_number)Arguments
serial_numberThe date to extract the year from
Examples
=YEAR(TODAY())2026
Returns the current year
=YEAR("15/06/2024")2024
Extracts year from a date string
=YEAR(A1)Year value
Gets the year from date in cell A1
Tips & Best Practices
- •Returns a number between 1900 and 9999
- •Works with dates stored as text if format is recognized
- •Use with MONTH and DAY to break down dates
Common Mistakes
- •Using YEAR on a cell that looks like a date but is actually stored as text, which returns a #VALUE! error instead of the year
- •Assuming YEAR handles a two-digit year the same way DATE does - it doesn't apply, since YEAR extracts from an existing date value rather than interpreting a typed number
- •Forgetting that YEAR returns a plain number, not a date, so formatting it as a date afterward gives a nonsensical result
Related Functions
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does YEAR return a #VALUE! error?
The cell probably contains a date stored as text rather than an actual date value - try DATEVALUE first to convert it, or reformat the source data.
Can YEAR extract the year from a cell containing both a date and a time?
Yes, YEAR only looks at the date portion and ignores any time component in the cell.
Does YEAR return a four-digit number?
Yes, always the full year like 2026, never a two-digit abbreviation.
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