Mataas ang kita.

Because Tagalog often uses predicate-first word order. In this sentence, mataas is the predicate adjective, and ang kita is the thing being talked about.

So the structure is closer to:

• Mataas = high
• ang kita = the income / the earnings

This is a very common sentence pattern in Filipino.

Ang marks the noun phrase that is the topic or subject-like part of the sentence. Here, it marks kita.

So in Mataas ang kita, ang kita is the thing being described as high.

A useful warning: ang is not exactly the same as English the, even though it is sometimes translated that way.

There isn't one, because Tagalog often does not need a copula like English is in simple present-tense sentences.

So:

• Mataas ang kita. = The income is high.

The sentence is already complete without a separate word for is.

Yes. That is also correct.

• Mataas ang kita. = very common, natural
• Ang kita ay mataas. = also correct, often a bit more formal, deliberate, or emphatic

Both mean essentially the same thing.

No. Mataas can be used both literally and figuratively.

For example:

• mataas na gusali = a tall building
• mataas ang presyo = the price is high
• mataas ang kita = the income is high

So here it refers to a high amount, not physical height.

Here, kita is a noun meaning income, earnings, profit, or revenue, depending on context.

This is important because kita can also mean something else in Tagalog in other sentences, such as in expressions related to seeing someone. But in Mataas ang kita, it is clearly the noun income/earnings.

You would usually say mataas na kita.

The na is a linker that connects the adjective to the noun inside one phrase.

Compare:

• Mataas ang kita. = The income is high.
• mataas na kita = high income

So the sentence form and the phrase form are slightly different.

Not necessarily. Kita can refer to different kinds of earnings depending on context, such as:

• a person's income
• a business's profit
• a company's earnings or revenue

So the exact meaning depends on who or what is being discussed.