FTB Publication 737: Tax Information for Registered Domestic Partners (2024)

FTB Publication 737 is a guidance document published by the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) that explains how state and federal tax rules apply to registered domestic partners (RDPs). It’s not a form you fill out and submit — it’s a reference publication that walks through the specific tax situations RDPs run into, especially the differences between how California treats them and how the IRS treats them at the federal level.

California recognizes registered domestic partnerships and, since 2007, generally requires RDPs to be treated the same as married couples for state income tax purposes. That means RDPs typically must file their California return using a married filing status — either jointly or separately. The catch is that the federal government does not automatically extend the same treatment in every situation, which creates a mismatch that can confuse even experienced filers. Publication 737 exists specifically to bridge that gap.

Who Needs This Publication

Anyone who is part of a registered domestic partnership in California and needs to file a state tax return should review this publication before completing their forms. It’s particularly useful for:

• RDPs filing their California return for the first time as a couple
• Partners who need to figure out how to report community property income
• Anyone preparing a federal return who needs to understand how income and deductions are split or combined for California purposes
• Tax preparers who handle California returns for domestic partners and need a clear reference on adjustments and worksheets

Because California is a community property state, income earned by either partner during the partnership is generally considered to belong equally to both. Publication 737 explains how to divide that income when preparing federal returns (which don’t recognize the partnership in the same way California does), and how to reconcile the different treatment when moving numbers from the federal return to the state one.

What’s Inside the Publication

The document covers several practical areas: how to determine filing status, how community property rules affect wages, interest, dividends, and business income, how to handle Social Security benefits and retirement income, and how RDPs should treat deductions like mortgage interest or medical expenses when only one partner’s name appears on the account. It also includes worked examples and references to the specific California adjustment schedules needed to convert a federal return into a proper California filing.

For 2024, the FTB updated the publication to reflect current filing thresholds, standard deduction amounts, and any changes to community property reporting rules that affect the tax year. Even if you’ve used a prior version before, it’s worth checking the current edition since dollar figures and references to specific schedules can shift from year to year.

When You’ll Use It

Most people pull up Publication 737 during tax season, right around the time they’re preparing both federal and state returns. Because the federal treatment of RDPs differs from California’s, it’s common to prepare a federal return as if unmarried (or using whatever status applies federally), then use the guidance in this publication to make the necessary adjustments before filing the California return. This is similar in spirit to how filers dealing with other state-specific quirks — like the situations covered in Form 8454 for e-file opt-outs — need to check state-level instructions separately from federal ones.

How to Get and Use the Publication

Publication 737 is available directly from the FTB as a free PDF. It’s an AcroForm-enabled document, meaning some of its worksheets and reference tables can be filled in digitally if you’re using it as a working reference while preparing your return, though the publication itself doesn’t get filed with the FTB — it’s for your own calculations and recordkeeping.

Download the current version straight from the FTB’s forms page to make sure you’re working from the year-specific figures. Keep a copy alongside your other tax records in case you need to reference how a particular income item or deduction was calculated, especially if your filing status or property arrangements change in future years. Just as taxpayers claiming credits under programs like those described in Form IT-605 or Form IT-606 need to follow specific instructions tied to their situation, RDPs benefit from keeping this publication on hand every filing season rather than relying on memory from a prior year.