Subtracting a value from one cell in another column for averaging purposes.

[TheOneTrueScotsman]

I've got a sheet that's essentially generating my W2 based on entering the values on my check stub. I've also got rows along the bottom that extrapolate my earnings at the end of the year based on the average of all my paychecks for the year. I know that I need to subtract fixed amounts such as bonuses and expense reimbursements from the averages as they'll skew the extrapolations heavily, but I don't know how to tell Excel to do this.

What I need:
A way to tell Excel to search for values in my "reimbursements" column and subtract them from the corresponding entry in the "gross" column before averaging.

 

[Peter_SSs]

Welcome to the MrExcel board!

search for values in my "reimbursements" column and subtract them from the corresponding entry in the "gross" column before averaging.

Like this?

21 03 22.xlsm
	A	B	C	D
1	reimbursements	gross		average
2		100		183.3333333
3	50	200
4		300
Average

Cell Formulas
Range	Formula
D2	D2	=AVERAGE(B2:B4-A2:A4)

 

[TheOneTrueScotsman]

That seems to have worked for me. It appears that my problem all along was merely a syntax issue. I was subtracting the averages individually instead of as a group. Thanks for your help.

 

[Peter_SSs]

You're welcome. Thanks for the follow-up.