YEAR Function in Google Sheets: Explained
In this article, you will learn how to use the YEAR formula in Google Sheets.
What does the YEAR Function do in Google Sheets?
The YEAR function returns the year from a given date. The YEAR function is beneficial when extracting the year from a specific date. For instance, the YEAR formula is helpful when you need to check each client’s contract year from a detailed client list containing contract dates.
How to use the YEAR formula in Google Sheets
- Type “=YEAR(” or go to “Insert” → “Function” (or directly navigate to the “Functions” icon) → “Date” → “YEAR”.
- Input a date manually or refer to a cell containing a date.
- Press the “Enter” key.
The general syntax is as follows:
Date: the date from which the formula pulls out the year
Imagine that you look at your client list containing contract dates with your customers and want to know which year you agreed with each client. Look at the following screenshot to understand how the YEAR function works in Google Sheets.
As you can see, the formula is simple. The YEAR function needs only one argument: a date or a cell reference to a cell containing a date. In the example above, the YEAR function in cell D3 refers to cell C3 containing “12/5/2022”; thus, the formula returns “2022”. You can use this information in column D to sort the data by year with a filter or filter view, as described in the following section, or count the number of contracts each year by using the COUNTIF or the COUNTIFS function. If you are interested in the COUNTIF and COUNTIFS functions, check these articles: How to Use COUNTIF Function in Google Sheets / How to Use COUNTIFS function in Google Sheets
How do I filter by year in Google Sheets?
Once you have a table containing a column showing the year of each item, as you can see in the picture in the section above, you can set up a filer or filer view for the table. You can sort the data in the table by year with a filter or filter view. To learn a filter and filter view in Google Sheets, please check these articles: Filter in Google Sheets: Explained / Filter Views in Google Sheets: Explained.
