Excel: If Function

In Excel, the If function returns one value if a specified condition evaluates to TRUE, or another value if it evaluates to FALSE.

The syntax for the If function is:

If( condition, value_if_true, value_if_false )

condition is the value that you want to test.

value_if_true is the value that is returned if condition evaluates to TRUE.

value_if_false is the value that is return if condition evaluates to FALSE.

Applies To:

Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel XP, Excel 2000

For example:

Let's take a look at an example:

Based on the Excel spreadsheet above:

=If(A1>10, "Larger", "Smaller") would return "Larger".

=If(A1=20, "Equal", "Not Equal") would return "Not Equal".

=If(A2="Tech on the Net", 12, 0) would return 12.

Learn how to nest multiple If Functions. (up to 7)

Learn how to nest multiple If Functions. (more than 7)

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: In Excel, I'd like to use the If function to create the following logic:

if C11>=620, and C10="F"or"S", and C4<=$1,000,000, and C4<=$500,000, and C7<=85%, and C8<=90%, and C12<=50, and C14<=2, and C15="OO", and C16="N", and C19<=48, and C21="Y", then reference cell A148 on Sheet2. Otherwise, return an empty string.

Answer: The following formula would accomplish what you are trying to do:

=IF(AND(C11>=620, OR(C10="F",C10="S"), C4<=1000000, C4<=500000, C7<=0.85, C8<=0.9, C12<=50, C14<=2, C15="OO", C16="N", C19<=48, C21="Y"), Sheet2!A148, "")

Question: In Excel, I'm trying to use the If function to return 0 if cell A1 is either < 150,000 or > 250,000. Otherwise, it should return A1.

Answer: You can use the OR function to perform an OR condition in the If function as follows:

=IF(OR(A1<150000,A1>250000),0,A1)

In this example, the formula will return 0 if cell A1 was either less than 150,000 or greater than 250,000. Otherwise, it will return the value in cell A1.

Question: In Excel, I'm trying to use the If function to return 25 if cell A1 > 100 and cell B1 < 200. Otherwise, it should return 0.

Answer: You can use the AND function to perform an AND condition in the If function as follows:

=IF(AND(A1>100,B1<200),25,0)

In this example, the formula will return 25 if cell A1 is greater than 100 and cell B1 is less than 200. Otherwise, it will return 0.

Question: In Excel, I need to write a formula that works this way:

If (cell A1) is less than 20, then times it by 1,
If it is greater than or equal to 20 but less than 50, then times it by 2
If its is greater than or equal to 50 and less than 100, then times it by 3
And if it is great or equal to than 100, then times it by 4

Answer: You can write a nested IF statement to handle this. For example:

=IF(A1<20, A1*1, IF(A1<50, A1*2, IF(A1<100, A1*3, A1*4)))

Question: In Excel, I need a formula in cell C5 that does the following:

IF A1+B1 <= 4, return $20
IF A1+B1 > 4 but <= 9, return $35
IF A1+B1 > 9 but <= 14, return $50
IF A1+B1 > 15, return $75

Answer: In cell C5, you can write a nested IF statement that uses the AND function as follows:

=IF((A1+B1)<=4,20,IF(AND((A1+B1)>4,(A1+B1)<=9),35,IF(AND((A1+B1)>9,(A1+B1)<=14),50,75)))