So, make all the numbers you want to subtract negative (for this, simply type a minus sign before a number), and then use the SUM function to add up the negative numbers: To make your formula more compact, add up the subtrahends (B2:B6) using the SUM function, and then subtract the sum from the minuend (B1):Īs you may remember from a math course, subtracting a negative number is the same as adding it. Simply type several cell references separated by a minus sign like we did when subtracting multiple numbers.įor example, to subtract cells B2:B6 from B1, construct a formula in this way: To subtract multiple cells from the same cell, you can use any of the following methods. How to subtract multiple cells from one cell in Excel Press the Enter key to complete your formula.Īnd you will have a result similar to this:.Click on the cell containing a subtrahend (a number to be subtracted) to add its reference to the formula (B2).Its reference will be added to the formula automatically (A2). Click on the cell containing a minuend (a number from which another number is to be subtracted).In the cell where you want to output the difference, type the equals sign (=) to begin your formula.You do not necessarily have to type cell references manually, you can quickly add them to the formula by selecting the corresponding cells. Another example is SUM(A1, A3, A5) which adds the numbers that are contained in cells A1, A3, and A5 (A1, A3, and A5 are arguments).For example, to subtract the number in B2 from the number in A2, use this formula: For example, SUM(A1:A5) adds all the numbers in the range of cells A1 through A5. Each argument can be a range, a cell reference, an array, a constant, a formula, or the result from another function. The SUM function adds all the numbers that you specify as arguments. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas, press CTRL+` (grave accent) on your keyboard.Or, click the Show Formulas button (on the Formulas tab). In the worksheet, select cell A1, and then press CTRL+V. Subtracts 9000 from 15000 (which equals 6000)Īdds all number in the list, including negative numbers (net result is 16000) Select all of the rows in the table below, then press CTRL-C on your keyboard. Exampleįollow these steps to subtract numbers in different ways: Use the SUM function and convert any numbers that you want to subtract to their negative values.

Note: There is no SUBTRACT function in Excel.

How to do subtraction formula in excel