Excel MINUTE Function

MINUTE extracts the minute from a time value and returns it as a whole number between 0 and 59. Feed it "7:45 PM" and you get 45. Feed it a full date and time like 3/14/2026 2:30 PM and you still just get 30, the date part gets ignored entirely.

Syntax

=MINUTE(serial_number)

Parameter	Required	Description
serial_number	Yes	The time you want to extract the minute from. Can be a cell reference, a time entered as text ("7:45"), or a decimal fraction of a day (0.5 = 12:00 PM).

Basic Example

You're tracking call center logs and need to know what minute each call started, so you can group calls by 5-minute intervals later.

=MINUTE(B2)

// B2 = 9:47:22 AM, the timestamp of the call

MINUTE reads B2, ignores the hour and the seconds, and returns 47. That's it, no other arguments to configure.

How MINUTE Works

It only returns the minute, nothing else

MINUTE strips away the hour, the seconds, and any date attached to the value. A cell containing 6/1/2026 11:22:59 AM still returns just 22. If you need the hour or the seconds too, you'll need HOUR and SECOND alongside it.

It resets every 60 minutes, like a clock

MINUTE never returns a number above 59. At the top of the hour, it drops back to 0 and starts counting again. This matters if you're trying to measure elapsed minutes across an hour boundary using MINUTE alone, since it has no concept of "the hour before."

It accepts text and decimals, not just time-formatted cells

You can pass MINUTE a text string like "7:45 PM" and it parses it correctly, no reformatting required. You can also pass a raw decimal: =MINUTE(0.5) returns 0, because 0.5 is exactly noon. This flexibility is convenient, but it's also where the #VALUE! errors sneak in, covered below.

It pairs naturally with HOUR, SECOND, and TIME

MINUTE is rarely used alone in real workbooks. Most of the time it's one piece of a formula that either breaks a timestamp into components or reassembles components into a time. TIME does the opposite job: =TIME(9, 47, 22) builds a time value from three separate numbers, the inverse of what MINUTE, HOUR, and SECOND extract.

Common Use Cases

Break a timestamp into hour, minute, and second

You're logging login times and want each component in its own column for reporting.

=HOUR(B2)     // returns 9
=MINUTE(B2)   // returns 47
=SECOND(B2)   // returns 22

Three formulas, three columns. Each one reads the same timestamp and pulls a different piece.

Convert a time value into total minutes

You're calculating billable time and need everything expressed as a single minute count instead of hours and minutes separately.

=HOUR(C2)*60 + MINUTE(C2)

// C2 = 2:15:00 PM, returns 855 total minutes since midnight

This is different from converting a full time value to minutes by multiplying by 1440 (minutes in a day). That approach works on the whole serial number; this formula works specifically off the hour and minute components, which is what you want once seconds don't matter.

Round a timestamp to the nearest 15-minute interval

You're building a scheduling sheet and need appointment times snapped to quarter-hour blocks.

=TIME(HOUR(D2), MROUND(MINUTE(D2), 15), 0)

// D2 = 10:23:00 AM
// MROUND rounds 23 to the nearest 15, giving 30
// TIME rebuilds the value as 10:30:00 AM

MINUTE extracts the raw minute, MROUND snaps it to the nearest interval, and TIME puts the pieces back together into a proper time value.

Group timestamps by hour for a pivot-style summary

You're analyzing website traffic logs and want to bucket events by the hour they occurred, ignoring the exact minute.

=TIME(HOUR(E2), 0, 0)   // strips the minute and second, keeps only the hour

This isn't MINUTE doing the work directly, but it shows why knowing how MINUTE and HOUR interact matters: dropping MINUTE to 0 is how you collapse a timestamp down to just its hour bucket.

Handling Errors

MINUTE throws #VALUE! when Excel can't interpret the input as a valid time or date. This usually happens with malformed text or values pulled from external sources that look like times but aren't stored as real time data.

Common causes of #VALUE!:

• The cell contains text that isn't a recognizable time format, like "9.47" instead of "9:47"
• Data imported from a CSV or database where times arrived as plain text with inconsistent formatting
• A blank cell or a cell containing a text label instead of a timestamp

=IFERROR(MINUTE(B2), "Check B2: not a valid time")

Wrapping MINUTE in IFERROR only hides the symptom. It won't fix a batch of malformed timestamps, it just stops the error from showing. Use =ISNUMBER(B2) first to flag which rows actually contain unrecognized time values, then correct the source data before you trust the results downstream.

Notes & Gotchas

What does the MINUTE function do in Excel?

MINUTE extracts the minute portion of a time value and returns it as a number from 0 to 59. It ignores the date, the hour, and the seconds entirely, returning only the minute component.

How do you use the MINUTE function in Excel?

Point MINUTE at any cell holding a time, like =MINUTE(B2) where B2 holds 4:12:00 PM, and it returns 12 as a whole number. The formula takes exactly one argument: =MINUTE(serial_number). No second argument, no optional settings.

How do I extract hours and minutes from a time value in Excel?

Use HOUR and MINUTE side by side, each reading the same cell: =HOUR(B2) and =MINUTE(B2). If you also need seconds, add =SECOND(B2). All three functions ignore everything except the component they're named for.

What is the formula to convert time to minutes in Excel?

To convert an entire time value into total minutes since midnight, multiply by 1440: =B2*1440. To convert just the hour-and-minute portion of a timestamp into a single minute count, use =HOUR(B2)*60 + MINUTE(B2) instead, since that skips the date and seconds.

What is the difference between the MINUTE function and the TIME function in Excel?

MINUTE takes a time apart. TIME builds one. MINUTE reads an existing value and returns its minute component; TIME accepts separate hour, minute, and second numbers and combines them into a single time value. They're inverse operations, and you'll often see them used together, TIME rebuilding a value that MINUTE and HOUR just took apart.

Why does MINUTE reset to 0 every 60 minutes?

Because MINUTE only reports the minute component, not elapsed time. At 10:00:00, MINUTE returns 0. At 10:59:00, it returns 59. One minute later, at 11:00:00, it drops back to 0 rather than continuing to 60. If you're calculating duration across an hour boundary, don't rely on MINUTE alone; calculate the difference between two full time values instead.

Why does subtracting times return a negative number?

If your end time is earlier than your start time, like an overnight shift, a direct subtraction produces a negative number rather than an error. MINUTE and HOUR don't reject that negative value either; they wrap it the same way they wrap a value over 24 hours, reading the equivalent position on the clock face. A -30 minute result still returns a sensible MINUTE of 30, for instance, not an error. The catch is display, not calculation: a cell formatted as a time will often show a row of pound signs (########) for a negative value even though the underlying number, and anything extracted from it, is working correctly. Wrap the subtraction in MOD to get a clean, positive time value that formats normally instead of showing pound signs: =MOD(end_time - start_time, 1). This is a broader time-math pattern that applies to any subtraction involving hours, minutes, or seconds, not just MINUTE specifically.

Does MINUTE work with dates that also include a time?

Yes. MINUTE only reads the decimal portion of a date serial number, which represents the time, and ignores the whole-number portion, which represents the date. =MINUTE("3/14/2026 2:47 PM") returns 47 regardless of what date is attached.

Related Functions

Function	Use this when...
HOUR	You need the hour component instead of the minute, using the same input structure.
NOW	You need the current date and time as a starting point before extracting components with MINUTE.