Summary

The IF function can be combined with other calculations by nesting other formulas and functions inside IF. In the example shown, the formula in E5, copied down, is:

=IF(C5>20, C5*D5*0.9, C5*D5)

If more than 20 items were sold, the formula applies a 10% discount to the total price. Otherwise, it just calculates the total price without any discount. 

Generic formula

=IF(logical_test,calculation1,calculation2)

Explanation 

The goal is to demonstrate how other formulas and functions can be nested inside the IF function. The example is a simple quantity-based discount formula.

IF function

The IF function evaluates a logical test and returns one value if the result is TRUE, and a different value if the result is FALSE. The generic syntax for IF looks like this:

=IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_false)

 For example, if cell A1 contains the value 75, then you could use IF to return "Pass" or "Fail" like this:

=IF(A1>70,"Pass","Fail") // returns "Pass"

If the value in A1 is 65, then the same formula will return "Fail":

=IF(A1>70,"Pass","Fail") // returns "Fail"

What is not obvious with IF is that the logical_test, the value_if_true, and the value_if_false can all be other formulas. The example below shows how this works.

Example

In the worksheet shown, the goal is to apply a simple quantity-based discount to the total calculated in column E. If the quantity is greater than 20, we want to discount the total by 10%. Otherwise, we want to calculate the total normally. In cell E5, the formula used to perform this task is:

=IF(C5>20,C5*D5*0.9,C5*D5)

The formula works like this:

  • The logical test is C5>20. This checks if the quantity of items sold (in cell C5) is more than 20.
  • The value if true is C5*D5*0.9. This calculates the total price as the quantity sold times the price per item and then applies a 10% discount by multiplying the result by 0.9.
  • The value if false is C5*D5. This calculates the total price as the quantity sold times the price per item, without any discount.

So, if more than 20 items were sold, the formula applies a 10% discount to the total price. Otherwise, it just calculates the total price without any discount. You can then copy the formula down column E to apply it to all items in the spreadsheet.

Other calculations

The calculations used inside the IF function can be customized as needed. For a more general formula that applies the discount itself, you can use the following:

=IF(C5>20,C5*D5*(1-discount),C5*D5)

For example, to apply an 18% discount, you would use:

=IF(C5>20,C5*D5*(1-18%),C5*D5)

This works because Excel will automatically evaluate the percentage 18% as the number 0.18. You can also adjust calculations in the logical test as needed. To apply a 20% discount to apples only, you could use the AND function in the logical test like this:

=IF(AND(C5>20,B5="apples"),C5*D5*(1-20%),C5*D5)

In Excel, nesting other calculations inside a function or formula is a common practice in many more advanced formulas. You can find many examples in this list.

Detailed quantity-based calculation

If you are interested in a more detailed example of a quantity-based discount formula, this example uses XLOOKUP instead of IF to apply more granular discounts based on a lookup operation.

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Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.