Were you eligible to exclude the gain from your federal tax return? If so, you don't need to file a CA return.
From CA FTB Pub.1001:
"For sale or exchanges after May 6, 1997, federal law allows
an exclusion of gain on the sale of a personal residence in
the amount of $250,000 ($500,000 if married filing jointly).
The taxpayer must have owned and occupied the residence
as a principal residence for at least 2 of the 5 years before the
sale. California conforms to this provision.
If you don't qualify for the federal exclusion, you would file a CA Non-resident tax return (CA 540NR) - only your military income and non-CA source income is exempt from CA tax under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
From CA FTB Publication 1032 Tax Information for Military Personnel - California :
Income Subject to California
Tax
In general, California taxes all of the income you received
while you were a resident of California and all of the income
you received from California sources while you were a
nonresident.
California Source Income – California source income
includes income from:
-
Real or tangible personal property located in California;
-
A trade or business located in California; and
-
Nonmilitary services performed in California such as salaries or wages from a second job held by a nonresident military member.
