I had a marriage ceremony last year w/o a marriage license or contract. My CPA filed us married jointly because their was a ceremony. Is this wrong?

Here are the required steps for a marriage in California. You must go to the County Clerk's Office and apply for a marriage license in California. Afterwards, you can have an authorized person perform (solemnize) the marriage ceremony. The California Code specifies who is authorized to perform marriage ceremonies, but they include priests/ministers/rabbis of any religious denomination, judges, magistrates, etc. Prior to performing the marriage ceremony, the authorized person must review the marriage license before solemnizing the marriage. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor. After the marriage ceremony is performed, the person who solemnized it is required by law to complete the marriage license and return it to the County Recorder's Office within 10 days for registration.

I don't know all the facts of your case, but it appears that you may not have been legally married because you failed to apply for a marriage license. Furthermore, without a license, the person who performed your wedding ceremony was not supposed to solemnize the marriage without a license.  You have no official marriage license registered with the County Recorder's Office. I advise you to consult a Family Law attorney in your area as soon as possible to see what your legal options are (i.e. such as re-applying for a license) as well as finding out whether or not you have legal problems regarding your taxes. Also, you need to make sure that you qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit before buying a house.