Excel Remove Time from Date

What this does

A date-time in Excel is one number: the whole part is the date, the fraction is the time. Formatting a cell as a date hides the time but does not remove it, which is why two cells that both display 13/04/2026 can still fail an equality test and why filtering or grouping by date splits one day into dozens of entries. =INT(A2) truncates the fraction and returns a real date with a time of 00:00. Its counterpart, =A2-INT(A2), returns just the time. For a permanent change without a helper column, copy the INT results and Paste Special ▸ Values over the original. Most people learn this as a sequence of clicks and forget it by next week; learning it as a pattern instead is what lets you apply it to the next, slightly different version of the problem without starting from scratch. That is the difference this page is trying to make. For “excel remove time from date”, the reliable version is a short checking loop, not just the first command that appears to work. Run it on a deliberately small range first, watch how the affected cells change, and only then apply the same setup to the full sheet. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. That is what makes a workflow that saves repeating the same clicks every week useful in real work: repeatable, auditable, and not dependent on memory or luck.

A worked example

A2 holds 13/04/2026 14:37, stored as 46125.6090. =INT(A2) returns 46125, which formatted as a date reads 13/04/2026 with no time. =A2-INT(A2) returns 0.6090, formatted as a time it reads 14:37. This is why =A2=DATE(2026,4,13) returns FALSE for the original but TRUE for the INT version — and why a PivotTable grouped on the raw column shows a separate row for every timestamp. Timestamps from exports and databases break every date comparison, filter and PivotTable grouping in the same invisible way, and one INT column fixes all of them. A practical tip before you scale it up: build it once on a small block of test data, confirm the number against the tool on this page, and only then point it at your real sheet. That one habit catches almost every mistake while it is still cheap to fix, long before a wrong figure reaches a report or a colleague.

In Google Sheets

Everything above works in Google Sheets too. Excel and Sheets share the formula syntax used here; only the surrounding menus are arranged differently. That portability is deliberate — learn it once and it follows you between the two tools and across Windows and Mac. Nothing on this page is behind a login or a download: the exact answer is at the top, and the detail below it is there for when you need it. That is the whole promise here — the answer first, and just enough context to make it stick. Treat “excel remove time from date” as a small building block rather than a chore. Once the inputs sit in their own cells and the formula reads from them, the same setup answers a dozen related questions with a tweak, and Excel keeps every dependent figure current as the data changes. The tool above is there so you can rehearse and verify before committing anything to a real workbook; the steps and worked example are there so the logic sticks. Get it right once and it stops costing you time — it starts saving it, every time the question comes back around.

Common mistakes

• Applying a date-only format and assuming the time is gone; it is still there and still breaks comparisons.
• Using TEXT when the result has to keep behaving as a date — TEXT returns a string.
• Rounding with ROUND instead of truncating with INT, which pushes any time after midday to the next day.
• Comparing a raw date-time against a date and concluding the data is wrong when the difference is the hidden fraction.
• Forgetting to reformat the INT result, which then shows a five-digit serial number.

Frequently asked questions