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Excel function · Dates
YEAR
Returns the year of a date.
What it does
YEAR takes a date and returns its year as a four-digit number. It is useful for grouping or filtering records by year.
Syntax
=YEAR(serial_number)Arguments in square brackets are optional, and … means you can add more of the same. In this Excel language, arguments are separated by ;
Arguments
- serial_number
- The date to read, usually a cell.
Example
In which year is the date in A2?
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date | Year |
| 2 | 2026-08-21 | 2026 |
The formula in B2:
=YEAR(A2)Result: 2026
2026-08-21 is in 2026, so the result is the number 2026.
Common mistakes
- Giving it a text that only looks like a date. If the date is stored as text, convert it first, for example with
DATE. - Formatting the result as a date. 2026 is a number; as a date it would show as a day in 1905.
In other Excel languages
Excel translates function names, and in some languages the argument separator too. Type the name your Excel shows.
| Excel language | Function name | Separator |
|---|---|---|
| English | YEAR | , |
| Deutsch | JAHR | ; |
| Français | ANNEE | ; |
| Español (España) | AÑO | ; |
| Español (México) | AÑO | , |
| 日本語 | YEAR | , |
| 한국어 | YEAR | , |
| 繁體中文 | YEAR | , |
| ไทย | YEAR | , |
| ខ្មែរ | YEAR | , |
| Tiếng Việt | YEAR | ; |