I'm confused as to what to input my principal residence information as. Does "date that you file" means today or it means the year 2023? I can explain in more detail.

[jaanvirathi]

The following language "Enter the county where you have your principal/physical residence on the date that you file your California Resident Income Tax Return". Also currently, as of today, I'm on a break and outside the country.

[DawnC]

If you are filing your tax return today, today would be the date you filed.  Enter the county that you lived in.   You are filing a CA resident return, meaning you are/were a resident of CA, so use the CA county that you resided in during 2023.   You can be on break out of the country and still be a CA resident for tax purposes.