How to Count Days Left Until a Deadline in Excel

Count down to permit deadlines from an as-of date, label overdue items, and show the time left in weeks and days.

You will learn to

• Count days from an as-of date to a deadline
• Label overdue deadlines
• Show time left in weeks and days

How it works

Days left until a deadline is simply the deadline minus the as-of date: =B2-$I$1. A negative result means the deadline has passed. Keep the as-of date in one locked cell instead of using TODAY(), so the sheet can be reviewed as of any day and doesn’t change on its own.

Wrap the subtraction in IF to show friendly labels such as “Overdue” or “Due in 18 days”, and use INT and MOD with 7 to present longer countdowns as weeks and days: 34 days is 4 weeks, 6 days.

=B2-$I$1