Line 1 through Line 5 – Filing Status

Check only one box for line 1 through line 5. Enter the required additional information if you checked the box on line 3 or line 5. See filing status requirements .

Usually, your California filing status must be the same as the filing status you used on your federal income tax return.

Exception for Married Taxpayers Who File a Joint Federal Income Tax Return – You may file separate California returns if either spouse was either of the following:

An active member of the United States Armed Forces or any auxiliary military branch during 2024.

A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources during 2024. Caution – Community Property States : If either spouse earned California source income while domiciled in a community property state, the community income will be split equally between the spouses. Both spouses will have California source income and they will not qualify for the nonresident spouse exception. For more information, get FTB Pub. 1031, Guidelines for Determining Resident Status.

If you had no federal filing requirement, use the same filing status for California you would have used to file a federal income tax return.

Registered domestic partners (RDPs) who file single for federal must file married/RDP filing jointly or married/RDP filing separately for California. If you are an RDP and file head of household for federal purposes, you may file head of household for California purposes only if you meet the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a domestic partnership.

If you filed a joint tax return and either you or your spouse/RDP was a nonresident for 2024, you must file Form 540NR, California Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.