Hello, I'm a relatively young guy who's doing his taxes on his own for the first time, but the process has become a lot more intimidating as my wife is refusing to give me her social security number so I can file as married separately. This is because we're currently going through an uncontested divorce at the moment, and while things have remained civil between us, apparently she doesn't trust me anymore. However, it is my understanding that, since the divorce has not yet been finalized and will not be so before the tax deadline, we are still considered married for the purpose of taxes.

We've only been married for less than a year, so I can't refer to any previous tax documents, and, despite what some websites claimed, I've called my local social security office and they said that they cannot provide it to me. I should also mention that she is a resident alien who just got her SSN sometime last year, and she is currently living in Washington state (our place of marriage) while I'm in Texas. I don't think her country of citizenship matters, but for completeness' sake, she's from China.

I was wondering what my options were to get my taxes filed. My (soon-to-be ex) wife wanted me to file by mail, leaving the SSN field blank and including a note mentioning that we're going through a divorce. Her reasoning was that she already filed her taxes and included a similar note (although I think she also knows my social security number), so the IRS will understand. I'm not so certain and would rather not play games like that. Also, filing by mail seems a lot more inconvenient and error-prone than online like I was planning to.

Is doing what she said a realistic option? Should I not be filing as married separately and instead be doing something else? I'm still a student so all I'm really filing for is a paid internship I had last summer (which already withheld expected taxes) and some money I withdrew out of an investment account, so I don't have too much to gain or lose. Despite what the social security office said, I also saw the SS-5 form and was wondering if I have any chance of obtaining her SSN through that.

Sorry this post got kinda long; let me know what the best course of action may be. Thanks, I really appreciate it!