End of the month in excel

Sometimes we need to get an end-of-month date to use as a completion date, a due date, as a target date, or sometimes we need it to calculate the days between two dates.

Without any effort, we can easily add it manually, but there are some formulas that can help us to calculate it.

The best way to calculate the last date of the month is by using the EOMONTH Function. But apart from this, you can also use other methods (VBA).

Using a formula or any other dynamic method has the benefit that we don’t need to calculate it again and again. Today, in this post, I’d like to share with you 3 simple and dynamic ways to get the end of the month date in Excel.

So let’s get started and please download this same file from here to follow along.

Get the Last Day of the Month using EOMONTH Function

EOMONTH is my favorite function to calculate the last day of a month. This function is specifically designed for these kinds of calculations.

All you have to do is just specify a date current date, and the number of months you want to calculate the last date before and after the start date. Here is the syntax:

EOMONTH(start_date,months)

In this syntax, the start date will be the current date and months will be a number that represents the number of months forward or backward.

Let’s say, you have the date “06-Feb-2017” and you want to get the last day of “Feb”. In this case, the formulas you need to use are:

=EOMONTH("22-Feb-2017",0)

In the above example, when you use EOMONTH, has returned 28-Feb-2017 which is the last date of the Feb month.

How does it work: Here, you have used “0” for the number argument because the start date you have used is of Feb month and you won’t have the last day of the same month. When you use “0” it will simply return the last date for the same month for which you have the start date.

To create a dynamic formula you can use the TODAY Function in the start_date argument.

End Date of the Future Month

Now, let’s say, from the same date you want to get the last day of “Apr”. In this case, the formulas you need to use are:

=EOMONTH("22-Feb-2017",2)

In the above example, the formula has returned 30-Apr-2017 which is the last date of the Apr month.

How does it work

Here, you have used “2” for the number argument and the start date you have used is of Feb month. Now, if you look, Apr is exactly 2 months after Feb so that’s why it has returned 30-Apr-2017.

End Date of the Previous Month

And, if you want to get the last date of a previous month you can use a negative number for that. Let’s say you want the last day of Jan. So, the formula you need to use:

=EOMONTH("22-Feb-2017",-1)

In the above example, the formula has returned 31-Jan-2017 which is the last date of the Jan month.

How does it work: Here, you have used “-1” for the number argument and Jan is exactly 1 month before Feb.

DATE Function to Get Month’s Last Date

DATE Function is another approach to getting the last day in excel. The date function helps you to create a valid excel date by specifying the year, month, and day. Here is the syntax:

DATE(year,month,day)

As I have mentioned, in the date function, you need to enter the year, month, and day, and it returns a valid date according to that. Now, there is a small trick that you can do with day argument.

And, if you want to calculate the last day of the current month the formula will be:

=DATE(CurrentYear,CurrentMonth + 1,0)

Or, if you just have a date to refer then the formula will be:

=DATE(YEAR(date),MONTH(date)+1,0)

Get Last Day with a UDF

A great VBA Example. This is a macro code for using a VBA UDF to get the last day of the month. You just need to copy it into your VBA editor.

Function LastD(Optional sd As Date = 0) As Date
If sd = 0 Then 
sd = VBA.DateLastD = VBA.DateSerial(VBA.Year(sd), VBA.Month(sd) + 1, 0)
End Function

In your worksheet, type “=LastD(” and insert the date for the month or refer to a cell. And, if you want the last day of the current month then simply left it blank using brackets.

Conclusion

As I said, the month’s last day can be helpful for you while calculating target dates, due dates, or completion dates. And, now we have three different ways to get it.

If you use EOMONTH then it’s really easy to create a dynamic formula that can help you to date for past or future months and I think it’s the best way to do it.

I hope you found it useful and it will help you take your skills to the whole next level.

Now tell me one thing. Which one is your favorite method above all? Or, do you have a different method? Please share with me in the comment box, I would love to hear from you.

And, don’t forget to share it with your friends.

To get the date of the last day of the month in Excel, use the EOMONTH (End of Month) function.

1. The EOMONTH function below returns the last day of the month.

Note: the EOMONTH function returns the serial number of the date. Apply a Date format to display the date.

2. The EOMONTH function below returns the same date. Use the DATE function in Excel to hardcode a date.

Let’s kick it up a notch! Use the second argument of the EOMONTH function to specify a number of months in the future or in the past.

3. The EOMONTH function below returns the last day of the next month.

4. The EOMONTH function below returns the last day of the previous month.

5. The EOMONTH function below returns the last day of the month, 8 months in the past!

Explanation: = 6 — 8 = -2 = October (-2 + 12 = 10) in 2015!

6. Use EOMONTH and TODAY to return the last day of the current month.

Note: today is January 15th, 2022.

7. Finally, to find the first day of the month in Excel, simply use DATE, YEAR and MONTH.

Explanation: the DATE function accepts three arguments: year, month and day. Use YEAR to get the year of a date. Use MONTH to get the month of a date.

In this article, we will learn How to calculate the date at the end of a month in Excel.

Scenario:

At times, we need to know the expiry date of any product given its period of expiry and manufactured date. And you would be thinking why to do it manually. Then YES. You are right. The Excel function does your work here. Let’s understand how excel works with dates to get the end date for the month using the Excel EOMONTH function.

EOMONTH function in Excel

EOMONTH function is used to find the last day of the given month. It requires two things:

1. From the date you wish to count or the manufacturing date.
2. Number of months from the date or its living period.

EOMONTH function Syntax:

=EOMONTH( Start_date, months)

start_date : a valid date representing the start date for the function.

Months : a positive or negative number to get the date for after or before the start date.

Example :

All of these might be confusing to understand. Let’s understand how to use the function using an example. Here we have start dates in the first columns and period of months in the second column.

Using the formula in the cell where we want the last day of the given month.

Formula:

Here arguments to the function are given as cell reference.

To get the 5 months after the 1st September 2014. What is the last day of that month? The month comes out to be february and the last day of feb 2015 is 28th of Feb.

Copy the formula in other cells, select the cells taking the first cell where the formula is already applied, use the Ctrl + D shortcut key.

As you can see from the above example, you can find the last day of any month using the EOMONTH function.

Sometimes the value returned by the function is a 5 digit number seems like some code digit or something. It’s nothing, As Excel stores date and time values as serial numbers. So just change the format of the cell from General to Date. Or Select the type of date format from Custom Format cell box.

Here are some observational notes using the above function in Excel.

Notes:

1. Excel records dates as serial numbers for calculation purposes. So valid date format or else the function returns the #NUM! Error.
2. You can add or subtract months to get to the required month and then get the last date of the month.
3. The start_date plus the months yields a invaild date, the function returns the #NUM! error.

Hope this article about How to calculate the date at the end of a month in Excel is explanatory. Find more articles on calculating values and related Excel formulas here. If you liked our blogs, share it with your friends on Facebook. And also you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We would love to hear from you, do let us know how we can improve, complement or innovate our work and make it better for you. Write to us at info@exceltip.com.

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