How to Subtract in Excel

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This wikiHow teaches you how to subtract the contents of one or more Excel cells from another cell.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Subtracting Cell Values

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  1. It's a green app with a white "X" on it.
    • If you would rather use a pre-existing Excel document, instead double-click the Excel document in question.
  2. It's in the top-left side of the "Template" window.
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  3. To do so, click a cell, type in a number, and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return .
  4. This will select the cell.
  5. Exclude the quotation marks. You'll always type an "equals" sign prior to inserting a formula in Excel.
  6. This should be a cell with data from which you wish to subtract other cells' value(s).
    • For example, you would type "C1" to select the number in cell C1 .
  7. You'll see it appear after the number you entered.
  8. This should be a cell whose value you wish to subtract from the first cell's name.
    • You can repeat this process with multiple cells (e.g., "C1-A1-B2").
  9. Doing so will calculate the formula entered in the cell and replace it with the solution.
    • You can click on the cell to view the original formula in the text bar directly above the row of letters.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Subtracting Within a Cell

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  1. It's a green app with a white "X" on it.
  2. It's in the top-left side of the "Template" window.
  3. Unless you plan on creating data using this workbook, the cell you select is not important.
  4. Exclude the quotation marks. This will set the cell up for a formula.
  5. It will appear in your selected cell to the right of the "equals" sign.
    • For your budget, for example, you might type your month's income into this cell.
  6. You'll see it appear after the number you entered.
    • If you decide to subtract multiple numbers (e.g., X-Y-Z), you'll repeat this step after each subsequent number excluding the last one.
    • If you're calculating budget, you might type an expense into this cell.
  8. Doing so will calculate the formula entered in the cell and replace it with the solution.
    • You can click on the cell to view the original formula in the text bar directly above the row of letters.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Subtracting a Column

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  1. It's a green app with a white "X" on it.
    • If you would rather use a pre-existing Excel document, instead double-click the Excel document in question.
  2. It's in the top-left side of the "Template" window.
  3. Doing so will select it.
  4. This is the number from which the rest of the column will be selected.
    • For example, you might type in your yearly salary here.
  5. To do so, you'll type in a negative version of the number you wish to subtract (e.g., if you wish to subtract 300, type in "-300").
    • You'll type in one subtraction per cell.
    • Make sure each of the numbers you enter are in the same column as the main number.
    • For the salary example, you'd likely type "-" followed by an expense for each box.
  6. This time, the cell doesn't need to be in the same column as the main number.
  7. Exclude the quotation marks. Doing so will set up the cell for a formula.
  8. The "SUM" command adds items together.
    • There isn't an official "subtract" command, which is why you enter numbers in the negative format above.
  9. This command adds all cells in a column from the first cell number value through the last cell number value.
    • For example, if the K1 cell is your main number and the last cell in the column with data in it is K10 , you'd type "(K1:K10)".
  10. Doing so will run the formula in your selected cell, thereby replacing the formula with the final total.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I subtract a column of numbers from a base number to obtain a final total in Excel?
    Community Answer
    In the place where you want the final answer, type =(click tile 1)-(click tile 2)-(click tile 3), etc.
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    Not Helpful 28 Helpful 38
  • Question
    How do I subtract a range of cells individually from the same cell?
    Community Answer
    The easiest way I found to do this was to SUM all of the cells, for example (A1:A10) in A11. Then, put in the following formula in whatever cell you'd like the difference to show up in. Let's say you want the difference from the number in B1, then the formula would be =(B1-A11).
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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    Not Helpful 21 Helpful 6
  • Question
    How do I show the minus in the sum?
    Community Answer
    You don't show the minus in the sum. You only put a minus in front of the numbers you want to subtract.
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    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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      Warnings

      • Failing to type = into a cell before entering a formula will prevent the calculation from occurring.
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