"let's say I had earned income of 1500$ this year and my partner had 1000$, can I use the combined 2500$ of earned income and contribute 2500$ into my Roth IRA"
For this specific scenario, the answer is No and TurboTax is correct to indicate an excess $1,000 IRA contribution. To be eligible to use your spouse's compensation to support your IRA contribution you must be the one with the lower compensation (and you must file a joint tax return with your spouse). In this example you could contribute a maximum of $1,500 to an IRA. If your partner is your spouse, you file a joint tax return and you yourself make no IRA contribution, your spouse could contribute $2,500 to your spouse's IRA because your spouse has the lower compensation.
