YEAR(date) extracts the calendar year, not a two-digit display abbreviation. =YEAR(DATE(2026,10,11)) is independently expected to return 2026.

Extract a full calendar year from a date/time value for annual summaries, year-over-year comparisons and chronological grouping. 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.

=YEAR(date)

Apple’s official YEAR 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. Enter the Milestones dataset, including D2:D5 as actual dates produced from A–C using DATE.
2. Enter =YEAR(D2) in G2 and fill down through G5.
3. Independently calculated expected G2:G5 outputs are 2024, 2025, 2026, 2020. In particular, the leap-day date 29 February 2024 belongs to year 2024.
4. A literal =YEAR(DATE(2025,12,31)) is expected to return 2025, while =YEAR(DATE(2026,1,1)) returns 2026. The change of year at December/January is why MONTH alone is insufficient for many time-series labels.
5. Formatting D2 to display 24 for the year does not make YEAR’s expected numeric result 24. Its input is the underlying date/time value.

Generate a chronological YYYYMM key

In H2, enter =YEAR(D2)*100+MONTH(D2) and fill through H5. Expected H2:H5 numeric results are 202402, 202512, 202610, 202001. This is useful when sorting records or joining to a separate reporting-period table; retain the source date cell for real date comparisons.

Group records by an explicitly fixed year

=IF(YEAR(D4)=2026,"2026 cohort","Other year") is expected to produce 2026 cohort because D4 is 11 October 2026. For a report that must change with the current year, compare YEAR(D4) with a documented dynamic date function, not a hard-coded value, and document the evaluation date. This guide does not claim a dynamic TODAY/NOW execution.

• YEAR versus current year: YEAR(D2) extracts the year of D2, not today’s calendar year. To get today’s year, feed a supported dynamic date function rather than relying on context.
• Two-digit display: a cell rendered 04/06/24 may contain a 2024 date. The year extracted is from the date value, not the last two visible characters.
• Text parsing and locale: a string date with a two-digit year may be interpreted differently across regions. Construct DATE(2024,6,4) from explicit numbers when possible.
• Invalid or missing input: repair the source cell first; arbitrary strings that do not describe a date are not reliable YEAR inputs. No exact Numbers error code was observed.
• Year/month sorting: YEAR(D2) alone groups events by year, not within each year. Combine with MONTH(D2) or use a real date if daily order matters.
• Cross-app serial values: don’t equate imported Excel date serials with Numbers date values without conversion and verification.

Excel and Google Sheets have a YEAR function serving the same general extraction task, but their date serial systems, parsing and reference syntax are not universally interchangeable with Numbers. Microsoft’s Excel documentation describes both 1900 and 1904 serial systems. Apple accepts a date/time value or date string in YEAR; a typed locale-dependent string is less reliable than a constructed DATE(year,month,day). No Excel/Sheets/Numbers execution was performed.

• 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.