What if I am unable to determine total number of dependants for multiple reasons?

[rjs]

Huh? You have to know who your dependents are. You have to enter them individually. What exactly is the question in TurboTax that you are trying to answer? We can't see your screen. Where are you in TurboTax when you see this question?

[rjs]

Are you adjusting your W-4 for 2023? Is that where TurboTax is asking you the number of dependents? If you're not sure, make your best guess. It's just an estimate, and you can change it later. Your 2023 tax return does not have to match what's on your W-4.

[katebert164]

Like I said.  I am unable to honestly declare dependents for a wide range of reasons.  Puit in the perspective of a man having one night stands and not knowing he has additional children until later.  How does that affect the ability to claim dependents?  How would I know if the dependents was deceased affecting taxes?

[DoninGA]

@katebert164 What you enter on a W-4 for dependents is not relevant to the number of dependents that you are going to actually enter on a tax return.

Enter 0 on the W-4 for dependents if you are not sure if you will be entering dependents on your tax return.  It can be changed at a later date.  The W-4 that you give your employer is used to determine the amount of federal taxes to be withheld from your wages by your employer.

[VolvoGirl]

You can claim a dependent each year they qualify as your dependent.  Each year is separate.  So if they didn't qualify in a prior year they can still qualify this year.  

Will this help?  Who can I claim as a dependent?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent/00/267...

See IRS Publication 501 starting on page 11 bottom Dependents

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

[rjs]

@katebert164 

You are never required to claim someone as a dependent. If you discover that you have a dependent that you didn't know about, the IRS doesn't care whether you claim that dependent or not.

Also, as DoninGA said, you can claim someone as a dependent on your tax return even if that dependent wasn't counted on your W-4.

The fact that someone is your child does not automatically make that person your dependent. There are a number or other requirements for someone to qualify as your dependent. The chart on page 11 of Publication 501, which VolvoGirl gave you a link to, is a good summary of the rules for whom you can claim as a dependent.

You might have a child that you don't know about, but you are not likely to have a dependent that you don't know about. To be your dependent the person would have to have either lived with you for more than half the year or been supported by you. Someone that you have no contact with at all is not going to meet the requirements to be your dependent.

As far as someone being deceased, they could still be your dependent for the year that they died. Someone who died during the year is treated as having lived with you for more than half the year if they lived with you for more than half the time they were alive during the year. But again, it can't be someone you have no contact with. They have to have either lived with you or been supported by you.

And again, if you somehow discover a dependent that you didn't know about, you are not required to claim that person as a dependent on either your W-4 or your tax return.