The question: why do my times look wrong?

You enter a date and time and the value appears hours off in another field. Or a view filtered for Today excludes late night entries. Time zones and formatting choices can cause confusing results if you are not explicit.

Key facts

There is no global time zone setting for a base or user
A date with time can be stored and displayed in different zones
The “Use the same time zone for all collaborators (UTC)” toggle affects storage and display

Implication: treat storage and display separately and make the time zone explicit in formulas and formatting.

Display a date in a specific time zone

Wrap the source date with SET_TIMEZONE and then format it.

DATETIME_FORMAT(
  SET_TIMEZONE({Start Date}, 'America/Los_Angeles'),
  'MM/DD/YY HH:mm'
)

Common example for created time:

DATETIME_FORMAT(
  SET_TIMEZONE(CREATED_TIME(), 'America/Chicago'),
  'M/DD/YYYY h:mm A'
)

Tip: do not expect SET_TIMEZONE(date) alone to change the visible value. You must format the result for display.

Choose between local time and UTC

Local time: turn the UTC toggle off on date fields with time, then use SET_TIMEZONE for targeted display
UTC everywhere: turn the UTC toggle on for consistent storage and comparison, then format to local only in presentation fields

Recommendation: prefer UTC for storage and comparisons and format to local only where users read the value.

Filters that always work

Filtering on a formatted string can break since the field is no longer a true date. Keep a pure date field for filters and build a separate formatted field for display.

Pattern:

Field A: the real date or created time
Field B (formula): formatting and time zone conversion for display
Views: filter on Field A, show Field B to users

Quick reference

Goal	Reliable approach
Show date in a specific zone	`DATETIME_FORMAT(SET_TIMEZONE(date, 'Area/City'), 'format')`
Store and compare consistently	Enable UTC toggle and compare raw dates
Human friendly display	Keep a separate formatted field for UI

Common formats

'MM/DD/YY HH:mm'   // 04/05/25 18:30
'M/DD/YYYY h:mm A' // 4/5/2025 6:30 PM
'ddd, MMM D, YYYY' // Sat, Apr 5, 2025

Opinionated take

Storing dates in UTC and formatting at the edge simplifies filters, rollups, and automations. Use SET_TIMEZONE only where humans read the value.

Airtable Time Zones: How to Control Display and Calculations