1. Use DATEDIF to find the total years.

In this example, the start date is in cell D17, and the end date is in E17. In the formula, the “y” returns the number of full years between the two days.

2. Use DATEDIF again with “ym” to find months.

In another cell, use the DATEDIF formula with the “ym” parameter. The “ym” returns the number of remaining months past the last full year.

3. Use a different formula to find days.

Now we need to find the number of remaining days. We’ll do this by writing a different kind of formula, shown above. This formula subtracts the first day of the ending month (5/1/2016) from the original end date in cell E17 (5/6/2016). Here’s how it does this: First the DATE function creates the date, 5/1/2016. It creates it using the year in cell E17, and the month in cell E17. Then the 1 represents the first day of that month. The result for the DATE function is 5/1/2016. Then, we subtract that from the original end date in cell E17, which is 5/6/2016. 5/6/2016 minus 5/1/2016 is 5 days.

4. Optional: Combine three formulas in one.

You can put all three calculations in one cell like this example. Use ampersands, quotes, and text. It’s a longer formula to type, but at least it’s all in one. Tip: Press ALT+ENTER to put line breaks in your formula. This makes it easier to read. Also, press CTRL+SHIFT+U if you can’t see the whole formula.

Note: We don’t recommend using the DATEDIF “md” argument because it may calculate inaccurate results.