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ROUNDDOWN

The ROUNDDOWN formula rounds a number down to a specified number of decimal places. It is commonly used in financial calculations, such as calculating the total cost of a purchase including tax. The formula takes a required value parameter and an optional places parameter specifying the number of decimal places to round to.

Usage

Use the ROUNDDOWN formula with the syntax shown below, it has 1 required parameter and 1 optional parameter:

=ROUNDDOWN(value, [places])
Parameters:
  1. value (required):
    The number to be rounded down.
  2. places (optional):
    The number of decimal places to round to. If omitted, the default value is 0.

Examples

Here are a few example use cases that explain how to use the ROUNDDOWN formula in Google Sheets.

Rounding down to the nearest whole number

When calculating the quantity of items needed for a project, you may want to round down to the nearest whole number to ensure that you don't overestimate the amount needed. The ROUNDDOWN formula can be used to achieve this.

Calculating sales tax

When calculating sales tax on a purchase, you may want to round down the total cost to the nearest cent. The ROUNDDOWN formula can be used to achieve this.

Calculating depreciation

When calculating depreciation of an asset, you may want to round down the calculated value to the nearest dollar. The ROUNDDOWN formula can be used to achieve this.

Common Mistakes

ROUNDDOWN not working? Here are some common mistakes people make when using the ROUNDDOWN Google Sheets Formula:

Missing value argument

If you forget to provide the value argument, the function will return an error. Make sure to include the value you want to round down.

Incorrect number of arguments

If you provide more or less than two arguments, the function will return an error. Double-check that you have included both the value and the number of decimal places.

Incorrect data type

If you provide a value that is not a number, the function will return an error. Make sure to only use numeric values as the first argument.

Negative number of decimal places

If you provide a negative number of decimal places, the function will return an error. Make sure to only use positive values for the second argument.

Incorrect rounding direction

Remember that ROUNDDOWN always rounds down, regardless of the value. If you need to round up, use the ROUNDUP function instead.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to ROUNDDOWN or are often used with it in a formula:

  • ROUND

    The ROUND formula rounds a number to a specified number of decimal places. It is commonly used to simplify large numbers or to make a number more readable. The formula can round both positive and negative numbers. If the places parameter is not specified, the formula rounds to the nearest integer.

  • CEILING

    The CEILING function returns a number rounded up to the nearest multiple of a specified factor. It is commonly used to round up prices to the nearest dollar or to adjust numbers to fit into specific increments.

  • FLOOR

    The FLOOR formula rounds a given number down to the nearest multiple of a specified factor. It is commonly used when dealing with financial data or when working with time values. The function takes a value and an optional factor as arguments and returns the rounded down value.

  • MROUND

    The MROUND function rounds a number to the nearest multiple of a specified factor. It is commonly used when dealing with financial data, such as currency or interest rate calculations.

Learn More

You can learn more about the ROUNDDOWN Google Sheets function on Google Support.