Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Rounding Time.

Rounding Time

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 13, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


There may be instances when you need to round a time value. For instance, you may need to round some time to the nearest quarter-hour. One way to do this is to use the MROUND worksheet function.

For example, let's assume the unrounded time was in cell B7. You could then use the following formula to perform the rounding:

=MROUND(B7, TIME(0,15,0))

This formula relies, as well, on the use of the TIME worksheet function, which returns a time value (in this case, for 15 minutes).

If you don't want to use the MROUND function for some reason, there is another way you can round to the nearest 15 minutes. The clue is to remember that 15 minutes is 1/96th of a day. So to round to the nearest 15 minutes, take the time value, multiply it by 96, round it, and then divide it by 96.

For example, if the time value you wish to round is in cell E5, the following formula does the rounding very nicely:

=ROUND(E5*96,0)/96

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11401) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Rounding Time.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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