value1 - Required. Number, cell reference, or formula to subtract from (minuend)
value2 - Required. Number, cell reference, or formula to subtract (subtrahend)
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revenue | Expenses | Profit |
| 2 | 5000 | 3200 | |
| 3 | =A2-B2 1800 |
Subtract cell B1 from A1
=500-125 → 375
Direct number subtraction
=500-125 → 375
Subtract a value from a sum total
=1000-250 → 750
Chain multiple subtraction operations
=1000-250-100 → 650
Calculate profit by subtracting total expenses from revenue for each product - the most fundamental use of the subtraction formula in Excel for business. Track profitability across product lines, departments, or time periods. The Excel subtraction formula is essential for financial analysts, business owners, and finance teams who need to compute net profit, gross margin, and operating income. This pattern applies to any scenario where you need to find the difference between two values: sales minus costs, actual versus budget, current versus prior period, or target versus achievement in performance tracking and variance analysis.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product | Revenue | Expenses | Profit |
| 2 | Widget A | $5,000 | $3,200 | |
| 3 | Result: | =B2-C2 $1,800 |
Subtract dates to find project duration, age, time remaining until deadlines, or days between events. The subtraction formula in Excel treats dates as numbers, making date arithmetic straightforward. This Excel subtraction formula pattern is crucial for project managers tracking project timelines, HR teams calculating tenure and vacation days, operations managers monitoring delivery schedules, and sales teams measuring sales cycle duration. Works for any time-based analysis: days between milestones, aging reports, deadline countdowns, or period-over-period comparisons in business metrics tracking.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Project | Start Date | End Date | Duration |
| 2 | Website Redesign | 1/15/2024 | 2/10/2024 | |
| 3 | Result: | =C2-B2 26 days |
❌ The Problem:
✅ Solution:
=(100-50)*2Use parentheses to control the order of operations in the subtraction formula in Excel. Excel follows PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction). Without parentheses, 100-50*2 calculates as 100-(50*2)=0. With parentheses, (100-50)*2 correctly gives 100. Always use parentheses to make your Excel subtraction formula calculations explicit and avoid unexpected results in financial models.
❌ The Problem:
✅ Solution:
=IFERROR(A1-B1, 0)Handle errors gracefully with <Link href="/formulas/iferror">IFERROR</Link>. The subtraction formula in Excel requires numeric values - attempting to subtract text, blank cells (converted to 0), or error values causes formula failures. Use IFERROR to return a default value when subtraction encounters errors, ensuring your Excel subtraction formula remains robust even with imperfect data in real-world business scenarios.
❌ The Problem:
✅ Solution:
=A1-SUM(A2:A10)Avoid including the same cell on both sides of the subtraction formula in Excel. If A1 is being subtracted from, don't include it in the SUM range. Use A2:A10 instead to exclude the current cell. This Excel subtraction formula pattern is common when calculating "remaining balance" or "this item versus all others" scenarios in inventory, budget, and variance analysis.
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