Time Difference in Excel: hours and minutes between two times

Times are numbers in Excel, so the difference is just subtraction.

The formula

=B2-A2

Start 09:15, end 17:45 → 8:30. If you see 0.354 instead, format the cell: Ctrl+1 › Custom › h:mm.

As decimal hours

=(B2-A2)*24

→ 8.5. Format as Number. See time to decimal.

In minutes

=(B2-A2)*1440

→ 510 minutes.

Shift that crosses midnight

22:00 to 06:00 gives a negative time (shown as ####). Use:

=MOD(B2-A2,1)

→ 8:00. MOD adds a day when the end is earlier than the start. See MOD.

Differences longer than 24 hours

If the cells hold date and time (29-09-2026 22:00 → 01-10-2026 06:00), plain subtraction works. Format as [h]:mm — the square brackets let hours go past 24 (32:00 instead of 8:00).

Subtract a break

Break time in C2 (e.g. 0:30):

=B2-A2-C2

Full timesheet with overtime: hours worked.

#VALUE! or ####

• #VALUE! — a time is stored as text. Use =TIMEVALUE(B2)-TIMEVALUE(A2).
• #### — the result is negative or the column is too narrow. Use MOD, or widen the column.

Adding time instead: add hours to a time