=YEARFRAC(start_date; end_date; [basis])

Zoho’s official YEARFRAC reference documents these five values. Use the exact values rather than guessing another code:

Do not mix these bases in one column without labeling them. They can produce different numerical results from exactly the same start and end dates. The precise actual/actual implementation for a term spanning multiple calendar years, leap days or unusual boundaries is not fully specified by Zoho’s short function page; do not create a cross-year basis-1 reference value without a native test and an authoritative convention definition.

Create a worksheet named DatePeriods, then enter the following cells in A1:E9. Format the B:C dates as actual date-valued cells. The accompanying CSV includes the values for practice but has not been tested with Zoho’s import/parser. To avoid ambiguous locale strings, prefer entering dates using DATE(2024;1;1) where needed.

Column D is supplied for WEEKNUM and does not affect YEARFRAC. If a cell shows a numeric date serial rather than a calendar date, format B:C as Date, not Text. If it holds text, change the underlying input rather than merely applying a display format.

1. Enter 30/360 US in F1, Actual/actual in G1, Actual/360 in H1, Actual/365 in I1, and 30/360 European in J1.
2. In F2, enter =YEARFRAC(B2;C2;0).
3. In G2, enter =YEARFRAC(B2;C2;1).
4. In H2, enter =YEARFRAC(B2;C2;2). In I2, enter =YEARFRAC(B2;C2;3). In J2, enter =YEARFRAC(B2;C2;4).
5. Format the results as numbers with at least six decimals. Compare the first two same-year practice records below before extending the formulas; do not assume a displayed decimal has the full underlying precision.

Independently calculated expectations for periods that stay within one year:

P101 spans 182 actual days in a 366-day leap year; P102 spans 90 actual days in that same leap year. The two records independently illustrate why basis 1 is not interchangeable with basis 2, 3, or 0. The six-decimal display is rounded; retain internal precision if using the fraction in further calculations.

The companion evidence file supplies models for bases 0, 2, 3, and 4 for all eight rows. Cross-year basis 1 is deliberately left unmodeled rather than pretending a single denominator applies in every scenario. Zoho-native testing and a verified rule are still needed before claiming precise outputs for P103 or P107 under basis 1.

Month-end distinction: same dates, different 30/360 conventions

For another useful comparison, P106 (January 1–December 31, 2026) has 364 actual elapsed days. The Actual/365 fraction is 364/365 ≈ 0.997260; by contrast, the independent US 30/360 model produces 360/360 = 1.000000. These are different conventions, not arithmetic contradictions.

Suppose L2 is the principal 10000, and M2 is the annual interest rate 0.05 (5%). To compute illustrative simple interest for P101 on an Actual/360 basis, enter:

=ROUND(L2*M2*YEARFRAC(B2;C2;2);2)

The independent arithmetic is 10000 × 0.05 × (182/360) = 252.78 after rounding to cents. If the contract instead uses U.S. 30/360 basis 0, the independent model gives 10000 × 0.05 × 0.5 = 250.00. This is a teaching illustration, not investment, tax, accounting or legal advice; actual agreements may specify compounding, payment frequency, principal changes, or different day-count variants.

Another advanced use is reporting accrued time proportionally. If an annual allocation is in N2, =N2*YEARFRAC(B2;C2;3) models the Actual/365 share. Do not substitute =DATEDIF(B2;C2;"M")/12 without considering that DATEDIF counts only completed months, whereas YEARFRAC measures fractional intervals.

• Missing basis: Zoho documents basis 0 as the default; omitting it is not equivalent to “always use actual days.” Explicitly specify a basis in financial documents so reviewers can see the convention.
• Wrong output format: YEARFRAC normally yields a number such as 0.498630, not a formatted date. Switch the result cell to a Number format and show enough decimals.
• Text dates and ambiguous locale: Zoho’s reference lists #VALUE! in its general error explanations. Where date text might parse differently across regions, use actual dates built by DATE(...).
• Unsupported basis codes: Zoho documents 0–4; do not rely on a value outside that set without native tests. Microsoft Excel documents #NUM! for out-of-range basis, but Zoho’s exact error response is not established by this article.
• End before start: The Zoho reference does not expressly define the reversed-date sign or error for this function; do not assert a negative result or specific error code until tested. Guard inputs where order matters.
• Leap-day precision: For basis 1, leap years can change the annual denominator. The worked actual/actual examples are intentionally contained within one 2024 leap year.
• February and 31st-day adjustments: Microsoft warns that some US 30/360 YEARFRAC scenarios starting on the final day of February may give unexpected results. That is Excel-specific documentation, not evidence of a replicated Zoho bug.
• Mixed dates and date-times: The vendor reference does not enumerate exact time-fraction truncation behavior. Use date-only cells for the examples.
• Regional or application separators: Zoho’s current online reference uses semicolons; an Excel import or a different environment may show comma separators. Confirm actual formula parsing in that environment.

Microsoft Excel documents the same five labeled bases for YEARFRAC, and its English syntax examples use commas. This does not demonstrate identical date coercion, basis-1 treatment for multi-year periods or error semantics in Zoho. Google Sheets also has financial date functions, but no independent native Google Sheets check was performed; do not claim exact edge-case parity. Zoho’s Windows/macOS desktop beta announcement confirms a subset of web functionality and 400+ functions at announcement time, not an exact historical first-supported version or uniform feature parity for YEARFRAC in cloud, offline, mobile and different accounts.

If you need actual calendar-day differences, use DAYS; if you need complete years, use DATEDIF(…;“Y”); and for the 30/360 synthetic day count before dividing by 360, use DAYS360. Choose the right metric for the contract, not merely the shortest formula.

• DAYS360 — companion review proposal explaining US and European 30/360 day-count adjustments.
• DATEDIF — companion review proposal for whole years, months, and days.
• DAYS — previously prepared review proposal for real elapsed-day totals.
• EOMONTH — previously prepared review proposal for month-end dates.

The queue contains proposal identifiers, not verified public URLs. Editorial staff should create internal links only after verifying actual published destinations.

• Zoho Sheet — function documentation
• Zoho Sheet desktop beta announcement

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

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