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Year 5 subtraction worksheets

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Year 5 · Subtraction

Column subtraction to 5 digits

1)18345 − 16148 =
2)66890 − 37492 =
3)39157 − 29284 =
4)95809 − 56085 =
5)84343 − 10804 =
6)73781 − 28785 =
7)98691 − 17762 =
8)85550 − 52501 =
9)76718 − 14979 =
10)68968 − 50713 =
11)98702 − 29168 =
12)86134 − 30716 =
13)80480 − 27169 =
14)74375 − 24147 =
15)55780 − 43420 =
16)95142 − 78858 =
17)92173 − 90536 =
18)83043 − 68117 =
19)73774 − 29550 =
20)56553 − 37976 =
ticked. · free UK primary worksheetsSheet #00023

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Year 5 · Subtraction · Column subtraction to 5 digits

1)18345 − 16148 = 2197
2)66890 − 37492 = 29398
3)39157 − 29284 = 9873
4)95809 − 56085 = 39724
5)84343 − 10804 = 73539
6)73781 − 28785 = 44996
7)98691 − 17762 = 80929
8)85550 − 52501 = 33049
9)76718 − 14979 = 61739
10)68968 − 50713 = 18255
11)98702 − 29168 = 69534
12)86134 − 30716 = 55418
13)80480 − 27169 = 53311
14)74375 − 24147 = 50228
15)55780 − 43420 = 12360
16)95142 − 78858 = 16284
17)92173 − 90536 = 1637
18)83043 − 68117 = 14926
19)73774 − 29550 = 44224
20)56553 − 37976 = 18577
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What Year 5 subtraction covers

Year 5 subtracts whole numbers with more than four digits by the formal column method — 66890 − 37492, 84343 − 10804 — which can mean four exchanges in a single calculation. The larger number always comes first, so no answer is negative, and answers vary in width on purpose: 18345 − 16148 leaves just 2197, and a question whose answer collapses like that is where a misaligned column shows itself. Year 5 expects the child to check, by rounding first and by adding the answer back on. Every sheet is A4, print-ready, and comes with an answer key.

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Questions parents ask

What subtraction does Year 5 cover?

Subtracting whole numbers with more than four digits by the formal column method, paired in the curriculum with the addition it undoes. Five-digit questions mean up to four exchanges in a single calculation, which is where most errors come from — not from the method but from losing track partway across. Year 5 also expects rounding to be used to check the answer is sensible.

How should my child check a five-digit subtraction?

By adding the answer back on. If 66890 − 37492 gives 29398, then 29398 + 37492 should return 66890 exactly — and if it does not, the error is found without anyone having to re-mark the original. This is faster and more reliable than working the subtraction through a second time, because a child who made the mistake once will usually make it the same way again. Rounding first gives a second, cruder check: 66890 − 37492 is roughly 67000 − 37000, so about 30000.

Why do the answers vary so much in length?

Because the two numbers are drawn independently, so how close together they are varies. 84343 − 10804 leaves 73539, nearly as wide as the question; 18345 − 16148 leaves 2197, which is four digits shorter. That range is deliberate. A sheet where every answer came out five digits long would let a child check their work by shape rather than by arithmetic, and the ones that collapse to a much smaller number are exactly where a misplaced column shows up.

Are the answers included?

Yes. Keep 'Answers' ticked and a separate answer-key page is made with every sheet, so marking takes seconds. Every difference is computed exactly and checked.

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