Devices, systems and methods related to digital video coding, and specifically, to management of syntax flags with respect chroma formats are described. In one representative aspect, the disclosed technology may be used to provide a method for video decoding. The method includes determining a chroma format associated with a region of a video and determining, based on the chroma format, whether one or more syntax flags applicable to the region of the video are included in a syntax structure of a coded representation of the video. The one or more syntax flags are indicative of a joint chroma residual coding step for representing the region in the coded representation. The method also includes generating one or more decoded video blocks of the region by parsing the coded representation according to a presence or an absence of the one or more syntax flags in the coded representation.