Grade 4 Multi-Digit Subtraction (Standard Algorithm)
Four-digit subtraction with the standard algorithm in grade 4, borrowing through several columns at once. Sixteen problems, printable with answers.
Subtract using the standard algorithm. Line up the place values and borrow where needed.
- 1.4804 − 3663 =
- 2.7498 − 5096 =
- 3.7668 − 3333 =
- 4.9156 − 2150 =
- 5.4004 − 3445 =
- 6.3382 − 1268 =
- 7.5402 − 3749 =
- 8.6367 − 3019 =
- 9.4616 − 2897 =
- 10.4921 − 3227 =
- 11.5119 − 4903 =
- 12.8502 − 4530 =
- 13.4277 − 2342 =
- 14.9085 − 3120 =
- 15.8015 − 4015 =
- 16.9091 − 7702 =
What this worksheet covers
Sixteen subtraction problems fill the page, and the complete key sits behind them in the same PDF. Twelve of the sixteen problems require regrouping and the rest do not, so the two cases are mixed rather than blocked together; numbers reach 9,156. It is written against Common Core 4.NBT.4 — part of Number & Operations in Base Ten in grade 4.
Skills practiced
The skill underneath these problems is the standard algorithm, including regrouping across zeros. To finish it, a student has to carry or borrow across place-value columns without losing a digit. Speed matters less than a clean method that survives a harder problem.
How to use this worksheet
By grade 4 a student should be able to take all sixteen problems in one sitting. Time it loosely — if the page takes more than about fifteen minutes, the underlying facts are probably not automatic yet, and that is worth fixing before more subtraction practice piles on top. Keep the key face down until the page is finished, then go through the misses together rather than only totalling the score.
One mistake to watch for
Borrowing across a zero fails: 500 − 237 comes out as 373 or 263.
The student tries to borrow from a column that has nothing, and either skips it or takes from the wrong place.
Do the cascade with base-ten blocks: break one hundred into ten tens, then one of those tens into ten ones. Write the two crossed-out digits on the page so both steps are visible.
Related worksheets
Also aligned to 4.NBT.4
Other sheets covering 4.NBT.4. Same target, different problems, so a student who has seen this page has not seen these.
- Grade 4 Multi-Digit Addition (Standard Algorithm) — grade 4, 16 problems
A step either side
Subtraction either side of grade 4, for stepping the difficulty rather than repeating it.
- Grade 3 Three-Digit Subtraction with Regrouping — grade 3, 20 problems
- Grade 5 Subtracting Decimals to Hundredths — grade 5, 18 problems
Free to download, free to print, and free to photocopy for a whole class — this subtraction sheet and its key are one PDF, aimed at the standard algorithm, including regrouping across zeros.