<prompt> Human: Ive been claiming 0 for the past 6 years... Bonus question: if a spouse was living with me all expenses paid for, for 10 months can I claim her?  <response>: The number of ALLOWANCES that you claim on your W-4 is not the same as the number of DEPENDENTS you claim on your tax return. An excellent way to make sure you are claiming the right number of allowances is the IRS withholding calculator 