@daniel-t-4c-com
1. Whereas US taxes Residents ( GreenCard / Resident for tax purposes ) & citizens on world income , South Africa only taxes its Residents { Article 4 of the US-South Africa Tax Treaty ) on world income but only on in-country income for Non-Residents. This and the fact that your spouse performed work ( for a South African entity ) while her tax home was in the USA, suggests that this income is taxable only by US ( for US purposes this is US sourced income by a US person). I do not believe , per the tax treaty that this income has to be declared to South Africa , since your spouse was not a resident of South Africa at the time ( please confirm that she was indeed in the USA at the time and was not "ordinarily resident " of South Africa at the time ). I am not quite sure where it lands you because I don't know whether you actually resided in SA during the last five years, whether you meet the Physical Presence test -- five past year' residence. This is my source on the subject ---> https://www.sars.gov.za/individuals/tax-during-all-life-stages-and-events/tax-and-non-residents/
2. For your rental income, this definitely income that will need to be declared to both US and SA. Generally it is a good idea to settle the SA tax return before doing the USA version because , to avoid/ ameliorate double taxation, you will need to claim foreign tax credit on the US return. You report your Rental income on Schedule-E and depending on the foreign tax amount , submit form 1116 for tax credit.
3. My personal pref. is to use downloaded/ CD windows version of TurboTax "Home & Business" -- everything on my machine, amendment is easy, next year work becomes a breeze etc. etc.
Have I covered all your questions or did I miss something ?
Sorry for the delay in reponse
pk
