Introduction
When working in Excel, you will often need to make decisions based on more than one condition. For example, you may want a result to appear only if two or more rules are met at the same time. This is where combining the IF and AND functions becomes useful.
In this short lesson, we’ll break down how IF and AND work together, show you the correct formula structure, and walk through clear examples so you can confidently build your own formulas.
Key concept
Excel does not have an IFAND function.
- AND → checks whether all conditions are TRUE
- IF → returns one result if TRUE, another if FALSE
The AND function is nested inside the IF function.
Formula structure
=IF(AND(condition1, condition2), value_if_true, value_if_false)You can include two or more conditions inside the AND function.
Example 1: Pass / Fail
Scenario: A student passes only if:
- Their score is 70 or above (cell A2), and
- Attendance is marked as "Yes" (cell B2)
Formula:
=IF(AND(A2>=70, B2="Yes"), "Pass", "Fail")How it works:
- AND checks if both conditions are TRUE
- IF returns "Pass" if they are
- IF returns "Fail" if either condition is FALSE
Example 2: Bonus eligibility
Scenario: An employee gets a bonus if:
- Sales are greater than £10,000 (cell A2), and
- Years of service are 5 or more (cell B2)
Formula:
=IF(AND(A2>10000, B2>=5), "Bonus", "No Bonus")Common mistakes to avoid
Writing =IFAND(...): Use =IF(AND(...), ...)
Forgetting quotation marks for text: Text must be in quotes, e.g. "Yes"
Missing brackets: Always close AND before continuing IF
Practice task
Try creating a formula that returns "Eligible" if:
- Age is 18 or over
- Membership status is "Active"
Otherwise, return "Not Eligible".
Key takeaway
- Use AND when all conditions must be true
- Nest AND inside IF
- Read formulas from the inside out