MS Excel: MONTH function to extract minute from date - time value
- Fakhriddinbek
- May 4
- 2 min read
The MONTH function in Microsoft Excel returns the month from a given date. It's widely used in financial reports, project planning, seasonal analysis, and any scenario where understanding or grouping data by calendar months is required.
Whether you're sorting transactions, creating month-wise summaries, or automating date-based formulas, the MONTH function is a must-know.
Syntax
=MONTH(serial_number)
Parameter:
Argument | Description |
serial_number | A valid Excel date, date-formatted cell, or a formula that returns a date. |
Excel stores dates as sequential serial numbers, starting from January 1, 1900.
Return Value
An integer between 1 and 12, where:
1 = January
2 = February
…
12 = December
Examples
A (Date) | Formula | Result | Explanation |
2025-01-01 | =MONTH(A2) | 1 | Returns January |
15-Mar-2025 | =MONTH(A3) | 3 | Returns March |
31-Dec-2025 | =MONTH("31-Dec-2025") | 12 | Returns December |
TODAY() | =MONTH(TODAY()) | Varies | Returns current month |
Practical Use Cases
Scenario | Purpose |
Monthly sales reporting | Extract month to group totals |
Project scheduling | Filter or organize by month |
Employee records | Determine birth or join month |
Conditional formatting | Highlight dates by month |
Seasonality analysis | Separate trends by month |
Example Table in Excel
Date | Month Number | Month Name |
2025-01-10 | =MONTH(A2) | =TEXT(A2, "mmmm") |
2025-07-15 | 7 | July |
2025-12-31 | 12 | December |
Related Functions
Function | Description |
YEAR() | Returns the year from a date |
DAY() | Returns the day of the month from a date |
TEXT() | Formats a date to display the full or short month |
EDATE() | Adds or subtracts whole months to/from a date |
EOMONTH() | Returns the last day of a month from a given date |
Notes
If a non-date number is passed (like 1), Excel assumes it's the date serial number for January 1, 1900, so =MONTH(1) returns 1.
MONTH("2025-04-15") works, as Excel recognizes it as a valid date string.
Pro Tip
Want to display the name of the month instead of the number? Combine with the TEXT function:
=TEXT(A2, "mmmm") → April =TEXT(A2, "mmm") → Apr
Or for a full dynamic message:
="Report for the month of " & TEXT(A2, "mmmm")
Summary Table
Feature | Details |
Function Name | MONTH |
Input Type | Date or serial number |
Output | Integer (1 to 12) |
Common Uses | Grouping, filtering, labeling |
Availability | All Excel versions |
Conclusion
The MONTH function is simple but powerful when working with time-based data. It helps you efficiently categorize, analyze, and visualize data across monthly timelines — a critical task in many industries.
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