MONTH(date) extracts the month as a number 1–12. =MONTH(DATE(2024,2,29)) has the independently checked expected result 2 (February), regardless of whether the date is displayed in a numeric or written month format.

Extract a calendar month number from a date/time, for example for recurring monthly sales or seasonal reports. Use a real date/time input whenever possible. Unlike text manipulation, these date functions work with calendar dates and can be copied down a Numbers table.

=MONTH(date)

Apple’s official MONTH help documents the required argument order, the accepted input type and the defined result (checked 2026-10-11, documentation path 15.4). There are no optional arguments in this documented signature. Avoid treating a versioned help URL as proof of the first app release supporting the function.

Create a table named Milestones. Label row 1 with Year, Month, Day, Event date, Day no., Month no., and Year no. in columns A–G. Enter these numbers, not typed date strings, into A–C:

In D2 enter =DATE(A2,B2,C2) and fill down to D5. Set D2:D5 to a Date & Time display format if needed; the rendered words/order may differ with the device’s regional settings. The table reports expected calendar dates, not screenshots or observed executions. In E2 enter =DAY(D2), in F2 =MONTH(D2), and in G2 =YEAR(D2); fill each down to row 5. All four outputs were independently checked against the input calendar dates, not in Apple Numbers.

1. Create the Milestones table as shown, including D2:D5 formulas =DATE(A2,B2,C2).
2. In F2, enter =MONTH(D2) and fill down through F5.
3. The expected F2:F5 values are 2, 12, 10, 1. These are month numbers, not month name labels and not month lengths.
4. Check =MONTH(DATE(2026,10,11)): the expected result is 10. This is the same calendar date whether a device displays 11/10/2026, 10/11/2026 or a written month.
5. Change only D3’s display format. The expected MONTH(D3) remains 12, because 31 December 2025 is still a December date.

Compute a sortable quarter label for every event

In H2 enter ="Q"&(INT((MONTH(D2)-1)/3)+1). Its independently calculated expected results for rows 2–5 are Q1, Q4, Q4, Q1. The expression groups months 1–3, 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12; the concatenation operator joins Q to the calculated quarter number. For longitudinal reporting, also keep YEAR(D2): grouping all February dates together can incorrectly combine different calendar years.

Build a monthly reporting key

Use =YEAR(D2)*100+MONTH(D2) for a sortable numeric YYYYMM key. Rows 2–5 are expected to give 202402, 202512, 202610, 202001. This is an integer key, not a date/time value; don’t format it as a date and expect the same result.

• Month number versus month name: MONTH returns 1–12, not February. Apple lists MONTHNAME separately; choose based on the needed output.
• Month number versus date interval: MONTH(D2) cannot compute elapsed months between two events. Compare dates with a documented interval method suited to the requirement.
• Mixing years: MONTH alone is insufficient for multi-year monthly charts. Combine YEAR and MONTH or construct the first day of each month with DATE(YEAR(D2),MONTH(D2),1).
• Ambiguous dates: entered strings such as "02/03/2024" may vary by locale. Use true Numbers dates or DATE(2024,2,3).
• Wrong data types: ensure D2 contains a date/time value or accepted date string, not an arbitrary numeric ID. Do not infer how unrelated numbers are coerced.
• Unexpected formula error: inspect the source date and formula arguments; the exact native error text was not tested.

Excel and Google Sheets also implement a MONTH-style date component extractor. However, identical function names do not certify that imported date strings, serial numbers or cell formats are portable. Excel can use 1900- or 1904-based date serials; Google Sheets stores dates using its own epoch. In Numbers, use table-aware references such as Milestones::D2 when a formula is in another table. The displayed sample outputs are expectations, not cross-app test observations.

• In the same Numbers table, A2, D2, and D2:D5 are appropriate relative references. Other-table references may require Milestones::D2 or a sheet-qualified Sheet Name::Milestones::D2; click the cell in Numbers’ formula editor rather than copying Excel sheet-reference syntax. Apple’s cell-reference guide is the reference for this distinction.
• Apple’s English Functions Help writes arguments separated by commas. If the device uses a comma decimal separator, Apple says to type semicolons between function arguments. The separator rule affects multiple-argument functions such as DATE; unary functions have no separator to change. See Apple’s Functions Overview.
• The page is based on Apple’s Formulas and Functions Help documentation path 15.4, checked 2026-10-11. It does not establish when the function was introduced in the Numbers app. Apple’s Help welcome describes the function browser in Numbers on Mac, iPhone, iPad and iCloud.com, but this page does not certify identical behavior across all past macOS, iOS, iPadOS or browser versions. No native execution was performed on any of those platforms.
• Avoid ambiguous typed date strings such as 04/06/2024 when sharing across locales. A calendar date constructed from numeric year/month/day with DATE is clearer. Display formatting does not change the meaning of DAY, MONTH or YEAR on an actual date/time value.

• COUNTIFS in Apple Numbers — count records matching date-related conditions after validating that the date cells contain dates.
• SUMIFS in Apple Numbers — aggregate amounts by reporting periods when the data and criteria are appropriate.

DATE, DATE, DAY, MONTH, and YEAR are now part of the same Numbers function library. See DATE, DAY, MONTH, and YEAR for individual explanations. Native Numbers execution has not been recorded for these examples.

• Apple Numbers — function documentation
• Apple’s cell-reference guide
• Apple’s Functions Overview
• Help welcome
• Apple’s DATE function reference

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in Apple Numbers.

• No genuine Apple Numbers screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.