You really don't have a choice here. For a vast majority, unless renting out property is your primary source of income for the year (meaning more than half) your participation is probably passive. Even if it does provide more than half your income, your participation could still be passive too, as that's not the sole deciding factor.
If you or your spouse actively participated in a passive rental real estate activity, you may be able to deduct up to $25,000 of loss from the activity from your nonpassive income. This special allowance is an exception to the general rule disallowing losses in excess of income from passive activities.
So basically, unless you are a real estate professional, your participation is passive. If you read the IRS tax map at https://taxmap.irs.gov/taxmap/pubs/p527-008.htm for IRS Publication 527, that seems to cover it pretty well. A few pointers:
If you own three or less rentals, are not a licensed real estate professional and claim active participation, that will raise flags with the IRS. So be ready to prove it when the IRS audits you on it. It's not an issue if you can prove it.
