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Math 2nd grade

How to Teach Two-Digit Subtraction With Regrouping (Borrowing)

By The Octolearn Team · · Reviewed against Common Core State Standards

Quick answer

To teach two-digit subtraction with regrouping, show your child how to borrow from the tens column when the top ones digit is smaller than the bottom ones digit. You trade 1 ten for 10 ones, add those 10 ones to the top ones digit, then subtract. Start with problems that don’t need regrouping so the column routine feels automatic first. Most kids learn this in 2nd grade.

Two-digit subtraction with regrouping (also called borrowing) is the first subtraction skill that feels genuinely hard to kids. The routine is only a few steps, but the idea of “borrowing” is abstract until you make it concrete. Below is how to walk through it, step by step, along with the mistakes to watch for and ways to practice at home.

What is two-digit subtraction with regrouping?

Two-digit subtraction with regrouping means subtracting one two-digit number from another when at least one column requires borrowing. For example, in 52 - 27, you can’t take 7 ones from 2 ones, so you have to borrow 1 ten from the tens column and turn it into 10 ones.

This skill is a 2nd grade standard in the Common Core (2.NBT.B.5), which asks kids to fluently add and subtract within 100 using place-value strategies. It builds directly on understanding tens and ones and knowing basic subtraction facts within 20.

Start here: two-digit subtraction without regrouping

Always begin with problems where every top digit is bigger than the bottom digit, so no borrowing is needed. This lets your child learn the column routine before adding the extra step.

Take 48 - 23:

  1. Stack the numbers so tens line up over tens and ones over ones.
  2. Subtract the ones column first: 8 minus 3 = 5. Write 5 in the ones place.
  3. Subtract the tens column: 4 minus 2 = 2. Write 2 in the tens place.
  4. Read the answer: 25.

Repeat this with five or six problems until your child can do it without hesitating. That rhythm (“ones first, then tens”) is what you want to become automatic.

How to teach two-digit subtraction with regrouping (step by step)

Regrouping is the step that trips kids up, so slow way down here. Regrouping happens when the top digit in the ones column is smaller than the bottom digit. You borrow 1 ten from the tens column and turn it into 10 ones.

Take 52 - 27:

  1. Look at the ones column: 2 minus 7. You can’t take 7 from 2, so you need to borrow.
  2. Borrow 1 ten from the tens column: Cross out the 5 in the tens place and write 4 above it (because 5 tens minus 1 ten = 4 tens).
  3. Add 10 ones to the ones column: The 2 ones becomes 12 ones (because you borrowed 1 ten, which is 10 ones). Write a small 1 next to the 2 to show 12.
  4. Subtract the ones column: 12 minus 7 = 5. Write 5 in the ones place.
  5. Subtract the tens column: 4 minus 2 = 2. Write 2 in the tens place.
  6. Read the answer: 25.

The idea that makes this click is “1 ten = 10 ones.” When you borrow, you’re trading 1 ten for 10 ones and moving those ones to the ones column.

The 3 mistakes kids make most (and how to fix them)

Fun ways to practice two-digit subtraction at home

Practice sticks when it’s short, real, and varied. A few ideas:

  • Shopping math: if you have 50 dollars and spend 27, how much is left?
  • Scoreboard subtraction: subtract one team’s score from another’s.
  • Dice or cards: flip two cards to build each two-digit number, then subtract the smaller from the larger.
  • Daily 5: five problems a day, mixing problems that need regrouping and ones that don’t, beats twenty problems once a week.

Keep sessions to five or ten minutes. When your child gets one wrong, give a hint (“Do you need to borrow?”) and let them try again before you show the answer. That second try is where the learning happens.

How to know your child is ready to move on

Your child has mastered two-digit subtraction with regrouping when they can:

  • Subtract two-digit numbers without regrouping, quickly and accurately.
  • Recognize when they need to borrow (when the top ones digit is smaller).
  • Borrow correctly and remember to reduce the tens digit.
  • Explain why they borrow (“I trade 1 ten for 10 ones”).
  • Solve simple word problems that use two-digit subtraction.

When those feel solid, the natural next steps are three-digit subtraction with regrouping and subtraction across zeros (like 100 minus 47), which use the same borrowing logic.

Free Double-digit Subtraction With Regrouping Worksheet

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The easiest way to give your child practice

For most parents, the hardest part of teaching two-digit subtraction with regrouping isn’t the math. It’s coming up with enough of the right problems and keeping your child willing to do them. That’s where Octolearn helps: describe the skill (“two-digit subtraction with regrouping”), and it builds a grade-matched practice set with read-aloud support, a hint and a second try on every question, and stars that keep kids coming back. It’s free to try, and you can see your child’s progress skill by skill in the parent dashboard.

Frequently asked questions

What grade do kids learn two-digit subtraction with regrouping?
Most children learn two-digit subtraction with regrouping in 2nd grade, where it aligns with Common Core standard 2.NBT.B.5 (fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value). Some advanced 1st graders or struggling 3rd graders may work on it as well, depending on their readiness with place value and basic subtraction facts.
What does regrouping mean in subtraction?
Regrouping (also called borrowing) is what you do when the top digit in a column is smaller than the bottom digit. You borrow 1 ten from the tens column and add it to the ones column as 10 ones, making the top number big enough to subtract from. For example, in 52 minus 27, you can't take 7 from 2, so you borrow 1 ten from the 5 tens, turning the problem into 4 tens and 12 ones minus 2 tens and 7 ones.
How do I explain borrowing to my child?
Use the idea of trading. When the ones digit on top is too small, you trade 1 ten for 10 ones. Base-ten blocks make this concrete: physically break apart a ten-rod into 10 single cubes and move them to the ones pile. That way, borrowing isn't a mystery rule, it's something your child has actually done with their hands.
Should I teach subtraction without regrouping first?
Yes. Start with problems like 48 minus 23, where every top digit is bigger than the bottom digit, so no borrowing is needed. This lets your child learn the column routine (subtract the ones, then the tens) without the extra step. Once that feels automatic, introduce regrouping.
What are the most common mistakes kids make with borrowing?
The biggest mistake is subtracting the smaller digit from the larger one in each column, regardless of which is on top (turning 52 minus 27 into 35 instead of 25). Kids also forget to reduce the tens digit after borrowing, or they borrow when they don't need to. Slowing down and narrating each step out loud catches most of these before they become habits.

How to Teach Double-Digit Addition With Regrouping (Carrying Made Simple)

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