Excel SUMIF between dates

Q: Why is this answer the top decile of Excel VBA Q&A?

Answer score +29 vs the Excel VBA archive median ~9; this entry is elite. The score plus 17 supporting upvotes on the question itself (+17) means the asker and 28 subsequent voters all validated the approach.

Q: Which Excel VBA pattern ranks just above this one at #26?

The pattern one rank above is “How do I get the old value of a changed cell in Excel VBA?”. If your use case overlaps, compare both before committing.

The Problem (Q-score 17, ranked #27th of 303 in the Excel VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2012

I have column A with date values formatted as mm/dd/yyyy. I am trying to sum the values of column B if A >=DATE(2012,1,1) AND

=SUM(B:B) sums B properly, but if I try to use =SUMIF(B:B,A:A>=DATE(2012,1,1)) the value returned is 0.00. I’m assuming this has something to do with using decimal for the sum and date type for the criteria. Is there a way to get around this?

Thanks

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 303 Excel VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds elite answer (top 10 %%) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.

The Verified Solution — elite answer (top 10 %%) (+29)

Verbal answer — walkthrough without a code block

Note: the verified answer is a prose walkthrough. If you need a runnable sample, check Excel VBA entries ranked in the top 10 of the same archive.

You haven’t got your SUMIF in the correct order – it needs to be range, criteria, sum range. Try:

=SUMIF(A:A,">="&DATE(2012,1,1),B:B)

When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)

Ranked #27th in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 91% 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 2012 and 2026

The answer is 14 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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this answer the top decile of Excel VBA Q&A?
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Answer score +29 vs the Excel VBA archive median ~9; this entry is elite. The score plus 17 supporting upvotes on the question itself (+17) means the asker and 28 subsequent voters all validated the approach.

The answer has no code block — how do I turn it into a snippet?
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Use the walkthrough above as a checklist, then open a top-10 Excel VBA archive entry for a concrete starting template you can adapt.

This answer is 14 years old. Is it still relevant in 2026?
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Published 2012, which is 14 year(s) before today’s Office 2026 build. The Excel VBA object model has had no breaking changes in that window. Three things to re-test: (1) blocked macros on downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), (2) 64-bit API declarations (PtrSafe, LongPtr), (3) any shift toward Office Scripts for web scenarios.

Which Excel VBA pattern ranks just above this one at #26?
expand_more

The pattern one rank above is “How do I get the old value of a changed cell in Excel VBA?”. If your use case overlaps, compare both before committing.

Data source: Community-verified Q&A snapshot. Q-score 17, Answer-score 29, original post 2012, ranked #27th of 303 in the Excel VBA archive. Last regenerated April 14, 2026.