How to subtract in Excel using cell references. You don't have to subtract numbers in a single cell; you can also set up a formula that will subtract the values stored in multiple cells.

Subtraction methods in Excel aren't the quickest or simplest, but if you need to get it done, we can show you how to subtract in Excel. Here's how.

If you want to subtract 3 cells in Excel, you can either use the minus (-) sign in your formula or use the SUM function. Both the formulae are as follows: A1-A2-A3 A1-SUM(A2:A3) ...

That said, to subtract a value in Microsoft Excel, follow these steps: In the A2 cell, type in the value 10. In the B2 cell, type in the value 5. In the C2 cell, we’ll create our formula.

D6 is the cell where you wrote the date, the minus sign (-) before today tells Excel to subtract the date in the future (D6) from today’s date.

When you add or subtract currency-formatted numbers, Excel 2013 automatically adopts the currency format for the results. Adding and subtracting figures follows similar procedures, but you must be.