TODAY Function in Google Sheets

TODAY in Google Sheets returns the current date. It takes no arguments. The value updates automatically every time the spreadsheet recalculates, so it always reflects the actual date.

TODAY returns a date value, not text. You can use it in date arithmetic, comparisons, and as an argument in other date functions.

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
(none)	---	TODAY takes no arguments. The parentheses must be empty: TODAY().

Examples

Calculate days until a deadline

Find how many days remain between today and a due date in B2:

=B2 - TODAY()

If B2 contains 2026-03-15 and today is 2026-02-19, this returns 24. The result is a number representing the difference in days. Format the result cell as a number (not a date) to see the day count.

Check if a date is in the past

Flag overdue items by comparing a date against today:

=IF(A2 < TODAY(), "Overdue", "On track")

If A2 holds a date earlier than today, this returns “Overdue”. Otherwise, it returns “On track”. This works because Google Sheets stores dates as numbers, so less-than comparisons work directly.

Calculate someone’s age in years

Combine TODAY with DATEDIF to find a person’s age from their birthdate in A2:

=DATEDIF(A2, TODAY(), "Y")

This returns the number of complete years between the birthdate and today. TODAY serves as the dynamic end date, so the result updates automatically as time passes.

Common Errors

Date displays as a number --- If you see a large number like 46072 instead of a date, the cell is formatted as a number. Select the cell, go to Format > Number > Date, and the date appears correctly.

Formula result does not update --- TODAY recalculates when the spreadsheet recalculates, not in real time. If you need it to refresh, make any edit in the sheet or press Ctrl+Shift+F9 to force a full recalculation.

Tips

TODAY returns a date without a time component. If you need the current date and time, use NOW() instead. NOW() returns a value like 2026-02-19 14:30:00, which is useful for timestamps but can cause unexpected results in date-only comparisons.

Do not use TODAY when you need a fixed date that should never change (like a record of when something happened). TODAY updates every day. For a permanent timestamp, enter the date as a static value or use a script-based trigger.