DAYS360 Function: A Brief The DAYS360 function in Excel is used to calculate the number of days between two dates based on a 360-day year. This function is especially useful in financial analysis, where 12 months of 30 days each (360 days total) are used instead of the actual calendar days. DAYS360 function calculate the number of days 360-day year Note: DAYS360 function will return #VALUE! error, when there is an issue with your inputs or use invalid starting or ending dates. You can fix this by providing a proper time string without any hidden characters. Note: #VALUE! error Objective Value Returned by the function Aim to calculate the day between two dates in a 360-day year. The DAYS360 Function will find the number of days between the starting year and ending year in a 360-day year. Objective Value Returned by the function Aim to calculate the day between two dates in a 360-day year. The DAYS360 Function will find the number of days between the starting year and ending year in a 360-day year. Objective Value Returned by the function Objective Objective Value Returned by the function Value Returned by the function Aim to calculate the day between two dates in a 360-day year. The DAYS360 Function will find the number of days between the starting year and ending year in a 360-day year. Aim to calculate the day between two dates in a 360-day year. Aim to calculate the day between two dates in a 360-day year. The DAYS360 Function will find the number of days between the starting year and ending year in a 360-day year. The DAYS360 Function will find the number of days between the starting year and ending year in a 360-day year. DAYS360 Function: A Syntax =DAYS360(start_date, end_date, [method]) =DAYS360(start_date, end_date, [method]) starting_date: The starting date of the period. ending_date: The ending date of the period. method: This is an optional argument. A logical value (TRUE or FALSE) can be used to determine this. TRUE: If you use the TRUE method, then this function uses the European method. FALSE: If you use the FALSE method, then this function uses the US (NASD) method. starting_date: The starting date of the period. starting_date ending_date: The ending date of the period. ending_date method: This is an optional argument. A logical value (TRUE or FALSE) can be used to determine this. TRUE: If you use the TRUE method, then this function uses the European method. FALSE: If you use the FALSE method, then this function uses the US (NASD) method. method optional argument TRUE FALSE TRUE: If you use the TRUE method, then this function uses the European method. FALSE: If you use the FALSE method, then this function uses the US (NASD) method. TRUE: If you use the TRUE method, then this function uses the European method. TRUE European method FALSE: If you use the FALSE method, then this function uses the US (NASD) method. FALSE US (NASD) Basic Examples of Using DAYS360 Function: In the following example, I’ve shown how to use the DAYS360 function with different start and end dates. These examples cover a variety of common scenarios, helping you understand how the function works in different cases. DAYS360 a variety of common scenarios Formula Used :=DAYS360(B4, C4) Formula Used :=DAYS360(B4, C4) S.no Start Date End Date Result Comments 1 01 February 2022 01 March 2022 30 February is treated as a full 30-day month. 2 01 July 2022 31 December 2022 180 A clean 6 months, each with 30 days. 3 20 August 2022 19 November 2022 89 Almost 3 months, but not quite! 4 10 April 2022 10 January 2023 270 That’s 9 months of 30-day blocks. 5 10 March 2022 09 March 2024 719 Exactly 5 months × 30 days. 6 05 January 2022 04 January 2023 359 Just 1 day short of a full 360-day year. 7 23-13-2023 29 August 2024 #VALUE! Returns #Value! Error, because the starting date is not a valid one S.no Start Date End Date Result Comments 1 01 February 2022 01 March 2022 30 February is treated as a full 30-day month. 2 01 July 2022 31 December 2022 180 A clean 6 months, each with 30 days. 3 20 August 2022 19 November 2022 89 Almost 3 months, but not quite! 4 10 April 2022 10 January 2023 270 That’s 9 months of 30-day blocks. 5 10 March 2022 09 March 2024 719 Exactly 5 months × 30 days. 6 05 January 2022 04 January 2023 359 Just 1 day short of a full 360-day year. 7 23-13-2023 29 August 2024 #VALUE! Returns #Value! Error, because the starting date is not a valid one S.no Start Date End Date Result Comments S.no S.no Start Date Start Date End Date End Date Result Result Comments Comments 1 01 February 2022 01 March 2022 30 February is treated as a full 30-day month. 1 1 01 February 2022 01 February 2022 01 March 2022 01 March 2022 30 30 February is treated as a full 30-day month. February is treated as a full 30-day month. 2 01 July 2022 31 December 2022 180 A clean 6 months, each with 30 days. 2 2 01 July 2022 01 July 2022 31 December 2022 31 December 2022 180 180 A clean 6 months, each with 30 days. A clean 6 months, each with 30 days. 3 20 August 2022 19 November 2022 89 Almost 3 months, but not quite! 3 3 20 August 2022 20 August 2022 19 November 2022 19 November 2022 89 89 Almost 3 months, but not quite! Almost 3 months, but not quite! 4 10 April 2022 10 January 2023 270 That’s 9 months of 30-day blocks. 4 4 10 April 2022 10 April 2022 10 January 2023 10 January 2023 270 270 That’s 9 months of 30-day blocks. That’s 9 months of 30-day blocks. 5 10 March 2022 09 March 2024 719 Exactly 5 months × 30 days. 5 5 10 March 2022 10 March 2022 09 March 2024 09 March 2024 719 719 Exactly 5 months × 30 days. Exactly 5 months × 30 days. 6 05 January 2022 04 January 2023 359 Just 1 day short of a full 360-day year. 6 6 05 January 2022 05 January 2022 04 January 2023 04 January 2023 359 359 Just 1 day short of a full 360-day year. Just 1 day short of a full 360-day year. 7 23-13-2023 29 August 2024 #VALUE! Returns #Value! Error, because the starting date is not a valid one 7 7 23-13-2023 23-13-2023 29 August 2024 29 August 2024 #VALUE! #VALUE! Returns #Value! Error, because the starting date is not a valid one Returns #Value! Error, because the starting date is not a valid one The detailed explanation of the above examples are: For the 1st one: Even though February has only 28 days (or 29 in a leap year), the DAYS360 function assumes every month has 30 days. So this February counts as 30 days and returns the value as 30. For the 2nd one: The given two dates are a clean 6-month window. Since each month is considered 30 days, the math is simple: 6 times 30 is 180 days. For the 3rd one: You might expect 90, right? But because both the start and end dates fall late in their respective months, Excel adjusts slightly under the hood and returns the final value as 89. For the 4th one: The starting date and ending date span exactly 9 months, and with DAYS360, that’s straightforward: 9 times 30 is 270. Whether months have 31 or 28 days, DAYS360 treats them equally (30 days) and so returns the value 270 days. For the 5th one: Just under two full years, which would be 720 days in a perfect 360-day calendar. But because the end date is one day short, this function in Excel returns the value as 719. For the 6th one: The starting and ending dates are almost to a full year, but not quite; it’s 1 day short of the 360-day year. DAYS360 captures even that tiny difference and returns the value as 359. For the 7th one: If you see this #VALUE! error, your date might be formatted as text instead of a real Excel date value. For the 1st one: Even though February has only 28 days (or 29 in a leap year), the DAYS360 function assumes every month has 30 days. So this February counts as 30 days and returns the value as 30. For the 1st one: Even though February has only 28 days (or 29 in a leap year), the DAYS360 function assumes every month has 30 days. So this February counts as 30 days and returns the value as 30. Even though February has only 28 days (or 29 in a leap year), the DAYS360 function assumes every month has 30 days. So this February counts as 30 days and returns the value as 30. February has only 28 days 29 in a leap year every month has 30 days 30 days 30 For the 2nd one: The given two dates are a clean 6-month window. Since each month is considered 30 days, the math is simple: 6 times 30 is 180 days. For the 2nd one: The given two dates are a clean 6-month window. Since each month is considered 30 days, the math is simple: 6 times 30 is 180 days. The given two dates are a clean 6-month window. Since each month is considered 30 days, the math is simple: 6 times 30 is 180 days. 180 days For the 3rd one: You might expect 90, right? But because both the start and end dates fall late in their respective months, Excel adjusts slightly under the hood and returns the final value as 89. For the 3rd one: You might expect 90, right? But because both the start and end dates fall late in their respective months, Excel adjusts slightly under the hood and returns the final value as 89. You might expect 90, right? But because both the start and end dates fall late in their respective months, Excel adjusts slightly under the hood and returns the final value as 89. start and end dates respective months 89 For the 4th one: The starting date and ending date span exactly 9 months, and with DAYS360, that’s straightforward: 9 times 30 is 270. Whether months have 31 or 28 days, DAYS360 treats them equally (30 days) and so returns the value 270 days. For the 4th one: The starting date and ending date span exactly 9 months, and with DAYS360, that’s straightforward: 9 times 30 is 270. Whether months have 31 or 28 days, DAYS360 treats them equally (30 days) and so returns the value 270 days. The starting date and ending date span exactly 9 months, and with DAYS360, that’s straightforward: 9 times 30 is 270. Whether months have 31 or 28 days, DAYS360 treats them equally (30 days) and so returns the value 270 days. exactly 9 months 270 For the 5th one: Just under two full years, which would be 720 days in a perfect 360-day calendar. But because the end date is one day short, this function in Excel returns the value as 719. For the 5th one: Just under two full years, which would be 720 days in a perfect 360-day calendar. But because the end date is one day short, this function in Excel returns the value as 719. Just under two full years, which would be 720 days in a perfect 360-day calendar. But because the end date is one day short, this function in Excel returns the value as 719. 719 For the 6th one: The starting and ending dates are almost to a full year, but not quite; it’s 1 day short of the 360-day year. DAYS360 captures even that tiny difference and returns the value as 359. For the 6th one: The starting and ending dates are almost to a full year, but not quite; it’s 1 day short of the 360-day year. DAYS360 captures even that tiny difference and returns the value as 359. The starting and ending dates are almost to a full year, but not quite; it’s 1 day short of the 360-day year. DAYS360 captures even that tiny difference and returns the value as 359. 1 day short 359 For the 7th one: If you see this #VALUE! error, your date might be formatted as text instead of a real Excel date value. For the 7th one: If you see this #VALUE! error, your date might be formatted as text instead of a real Excel date value. If you see this #VALUE! error, your date might be formatted as text instead of a real Excel date value. Examples of Using the DAYS360 Function with the TRUE or FALSE Method: In this example, the start date is 28 February 2024 and the end date is 31 March 2024. start date 28 February 2024 end date 31 March 2024 If you use the TRUE argument in the DAYS360 formula, Excel applies the European method, which treats the 31st as the 30th. So, the date range from 28-Feb to 31-Mar is treated as 28-Feb to 30-Mar, resulting in 32 days. TRUE DAYS360 European method 31st as the 30th 28-Feb to 31-Mar 28-Feb to 30-Mar 32 days If you use FALSE or leave the argument blank, Excel applies the US method, where the end date logic is adjusted differently. In this case, 28-Feb to 31-Mar is treated as is, and it returns 33 days based on the 360-day year system. FALSE US method 28-Feb to 31-Mar 33 days 360-day year system This example should help you understand how the optional argument in the DAYS360 function affects the result. It is not mandatory to use the argument unless your calculation requires a specific method to solve the scenario. DAYS360 That’s it. This article was originally published on: How to Use Excel DAYS360 Function? How to Use Excel DAYS360 Function?
