Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Rounding Up to the Next Half.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 31, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Terry has a need to round numbers up to the next 0.5. This means that a number such as 1.1 would round up to 1.5, but 1.6 would round up to 2.0. He tried using MROUND, but it only rounds to the nearest half (1.1 becomes 1.0 and 1.6 becomes 1.5).
Excel provides several different functions that you can use for different rounding purposes, such as ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, MROUND, FLOOR, CEILING, etc. Each of these has been discussed fully in other issues of ExcelTips. In this particular instance, CEILING would probably be the best solution:
=CEILING(A1,0.5)
This rounds the value in A1 upwards, to the next half. Actually, CEILING rounds away from 0, which means that positive numbers are rounded up but negative numbers are rounded down, away from zero. (For example, -1.1 would be rounded to -1.5, not to 1.0.)
Of course, there are multiple ways to do various tasks in Excel, and this type of rounding is no exception. If you would rather use ROUNDUP instead of CEILING, you could use the following formula:
=ROUNDUP(A1*2,0)/2
If you prefer to use MROUND, you could do the following:
=MROUND(A1+0.24999999,0.5)
This works because you are adding a value (0.249999) that always pushes MROUND over the half-way "tipping point" to force the result upwards.
These are just a few of the easy ways to accomplish the desired result. There are many other ways using the other rounding functions, as well.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (4079) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Rounding Up to the Next Half.
Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!
Some formulas just don't give the results you expect. Sometimes this is due to the way that Excel handles rounding. ...
Discover MoreExcel provides a variety of functions you can use to round values in any number of ways. It does not, however, provide a ...
Discover MoreWhen working with financial data, it's easy to round values to the nearest dollar. What if you want them rounded to the ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments