Sorry for any confusion. Since you live in California, I interpreted your question to mean you were married. But you are correct. Registered domestic partners who are not married must file separate tax returns as single individuals.
This TurboTax article has specific information:
"Regardless of what state you live in, each domestic partner prepares a separate federal return based on the Allocation Worksheet that you attach to it. You might consider including an explanatory note to remind the IRS of your situation.
California domestic partners file as individuals for federal filing, however, under California law, the state return must be filed as a married return. This requires the creation of a “mock” federal return that reflects joint-filing status. This is just to get the numbers you need to fill in the sections of your state return that use numbers from a "married filing jointly" federal return. This ”mock” federal return never goes to the IRS; you submit it with your California state return."
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