(a) Are you a US person ( Citizen/GreenCard/ Resident for tax purposes ) ?
(b) Is your tax home USA or are you abroad ? Is your spouse living with you?
(c) Which country is your spouse a citizen of ?
(d) Do you have any dependents ?
(e) Does your spouse have foreign income ?
Note that you have to file by mail if you wish to file MFJ ( Married Fling Joint ) and at the same time request an ITIN for your spouse.
I will circle back once I hear from you --yes ?
Are you filing jointly or separately?
If they do not have an SSN or ITIN and you choose to file Married Filing Separate ,you can try typing NRA in as your spouses last name and leave the SSN blank. Make sure you put a check mark in the box that says My spouse is a Non-Resident alien in the My info section. When you get to the end and try to transmit the return, ignore the e-file errors regarding your NRA spouse and select transmit your return. If that does not work you will need to print and mail your return and write NRA (Non Resident Alien) in the space for her SSN.
If your spouse chooses to be treated as an US Citizen for tax purposes, and you want to file as Married Filing Joint, you would need to include their income on your return as well and they would be taxed on it. If you choose filing jointly, you will need to print and mail your return along with the W-7 and any other required documents to
IRS
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342
A. I am a US citizen
B. Tax income is USA. Spouse is living with me outside the US.
C. Spouse is a citizen of Brazil
D. I have no dependents
E. My spouse has foreign income; they have a job here in Brazil. We do not wish to file jointly.
Not sure if this helps, but he has never left Brazil. We got married via online through a court in Utah. But when I go to put he is a nonresidential alien, they still want me to provide a number for him even though he has nothing like that for the US.
@byronstull , thank you for the answers. Now I understand better what you are trying to achieve.
Generally only way to bypass ( that I know of ) the TIN ( SSN or ITIN ) check for a married person -- whether MFS or MFJ, is to use obviously dummy SSN ( e.g. 123-45-8000) for the preparation phase. Then , after all the checks have been completed and passed, select file-by-mail.
The print, replace the dummy TIN with the letters N R A, sign, date and mail-in the return. If you are in Sao Paulo, or similar large city, then at the American consulate there may also be a drop-off for returns.
Is there more I can do for you ?