Determine how many (optional) arguments where actually passed to VBA function?

The Problem (Q-score 6, ranked #223rd of 303 in the Excel VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2013

I’d like to define a function in Visual Basic which computes income tax in a given bracket. The inputs should be the income, the marginal tax rate, the lower bracket boundary, and – optionally – the upper bracket boundary. (For the top bracket there is no upper boundary).

Here’s how I went about it. First, I define a “ramp” function as follows:

Public Function ramp(x)
    ramp = (x + Abs(x)) / 2
End Function

which is basically the same as IF(x<0,0,x). Then I define the function (in Dutch) for the tax as

Public Function schijfbelasting(inkomen, ondergrens, bovengrens, tarief)
    schijfbelasting = ramp(tarief * (inkomen - ondergrens)) - ramp(tarief * (inkomen - bovengrens))
End Function

Here “inkomen”=income, “ondergrens”=lower bracket boundary, “bovengrens”=upper bracket boundary, “tarief”=marginal tax rate, and the output “schijfbelasting”=tax in the specified bracket.

This all works fine, except that I’d like to make the “bovengrens” (upper bracket boundary) optional using

Optional bovengrens

In Matlab, I would use the “nargin” (number of arguments) function to do something like the following:

Public Function schijfbelasting(inkomen, ondergrens, Optional bovengrens, tarief)
If nargin==4
    schijfbelasting = ramp(tarief * (inkomen - ondergrens)) - ramp(tarief * (inkomen - bovengrens))
Elseif nargin==3
schijfbelasting = ramp(tarief*(inkomen-ondergrens))
End If
End Function

However, I’m not aware of a function similar to “nargin” in Visual Basic. It could also be something like “if the argument “bovengrens” is defined”. Does anybody know how to approach this problem? Thanks in advance.

P.S. I am aware that I can make the code ‘work’ by filling in a very large number for the bracket ‘boundary’ in the top bracket, but I do not consider this elegant coding.

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 303 Excel VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds niche answer (below median) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.

The Verified Solution — niche answer (below median) (+7)

4-line Excel VBA pattern (copy-ready)

You can use VBA’s IsMissing function to test for optional parameters. Here’s an example:

Public Sub OptionalArg(arg1, Optional arg2)
Debug.Print arg1; IIf(IsMissing(arg2), "missing", arg2)
End Sub

Test it like this:

Sub Test()
OptionalArg 1
OptionalArg 1, 2
End Sub

When to Use It — classic (2013–2016)

Ranked #223rd in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 98% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the Excel VBA archive for a higher-consensus alternative.

What changed between 2013 and 2026

The answer is 13 years old. The Excel VBA object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.