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Adding or subtracting hours from a time in Excel can be easily achieved through the use of simple formulas and functions. To add hours, you can use the “TIME” function, which allows you to specify the number of hours to add to a given time. Similarly, to subtract hours, you can use the “TIME” function in combination with the “-” operator. Alternatively, you can also use the “DATEADD” function to add or subtract hours from a time. This function requires you to specify the time unit (hours in this case) and the number of units to add or subtract. By using these functions, you can quickly and accurately perform time calculations in Excel.
Add & Subtract Hours from Time in Excel
You can use the following basic formulas to add and subtract hours from a time in Excel:
Formula 1: Add Hours to Time
=A1+(3/24) This particular formula adds 3 hours to the time in cell A1.
Formula 2: Subtract Hours from Time
=A1-(3/24) This particular formula subtracts 3 hours from the time in cell A1.
This formula works with times and datetimes in Excel.
Note: We must divide the number of hours by 24 because otherwise Excel will attempt to add or subtract 3 days instead of hours.
The following examples show how to use each formula in practice.
Example 1: Add & Subtract Hours from Time in Excel
The following screenshot shows how to add 3 hours to a column of time values in Excel:

The values in column B represent the values in column A with 3 hours added to them.
We can just as easily subtract 3 hours from each time value in column A as well:

The values in column B represent the values in column A with 3 hours subtracted from them.
Example 2: Add & Subtract Hours from DateTime in Excel
The following screenshot shows how to add 3 hours to a column of datetime values in Excel:

The datetime values in column B represent the datetime values in column A with 3 hours added to them.
We can just as easily subtract 3 hours from each datetime value in column A as well:

The datetime values in column B represent the datetime values in column A with 3 hours added to them.
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Excel:
Cite this article
stats writer (2024). How do I add or subtract hours from a time in Excel?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-do-i-add-or-subtract-hours-from-a-time-in-excel/
stats writer. "How do I add or subtract hours from a time in Excel?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 27 Jun. 2024, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-do-i-add-or-subtract-hours-from-a-time-in-excel/.
stats writer. "How do I add or subtract hours from a time in Excel?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2024. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-do-i-add-or-subtract-hours-from-a-time-in-excel/.
stats writer (2024) 'How do I add or subtract hours from a time in Excel?', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-do-i-add-or-subtract-hours-from-a-time-in-excel/.
[1] stats writer, "How do I add or subtract hours from a time in Excel?," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, June, 2024.
stats writer. How do I add or subtract hours from a time in Excel?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2024;vol(issue):pages.
