Question

alifornia taxpayers generally use the same filing status for California that they do on their federal return. Although, there are exceptions. Which of the following is NOT an exception?
A taxpayer who is a registered domestic partner (RDP), and who files single for federal tax purposes, must file married/RDP filing jointly or married/RDP filing separately for California purposes.
Taxpayers who file a joint federal income tax return may choose to file either joint or separate California returns if the taxpayer or spouse was an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces (or any auxiliary military branch) during the tax year.
Taxpayers who file a joint federal income tax return may choose to file either joint or separate California returns if the taxpayer or spouse was a nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources during the tax year.
Taxpayers who file single on their federal tax return may choose to file either jointly or separately on their California return.

Answer 1

The last statement is NOT an exception.

Explanation: California generally follows federal filing status, with specific exceptions (RDPs must use married/RDP filing statuses for CA; joint federal filers can elect separate CA returns in certain cases such as active-duty military or a spouse who was a nonresident with no CA-source income). A taxpayer who files single federally cannot elect to file jointly on a California return — you must be married or a registered domestic partner to file jointly.