How to Add Time in Excel

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Quick answer

Use SUM on numeric time cells. Format the result as [h]:mm in desktop Excel so a total greater than 24 hours displays its full hours.

Open Add Time Calculator

Step by step

  1. Enter 12:45 in A2 and 15:30 in A3. In another cell, enter =SUM(A2:A3).
  2. Select the result and open Format Cells (Ctrl+1 in Windows Excel). Under Number, choose Custom and enter [h]:mm in the Type field.
  3. Press OK. For seconds, use [h]:mm:ss. To get decimal hours in a separate cell, use =SUM(A2:A3)*24 and apply a regular number format.

Worked examples

Total above 24 hours

12:45 + 15:30 = 28 hours 15 minutes. An ordinary clock format can show 4:15. The elapsed format [h]:mm shows 28:15.

Find text entries

If a result is too low, try =COUNT(A2:A3). If it returns 1 for two filled cells, one cell is nonnumeric. Re-enter the text as a time value and check again.

What to check

Use this workflow for durations already calculated. For a start clock, end clock and break field, first compute the net duration in each row.

Related guides

Sources

See the calculation methodology or report an error.