The number of Americans who will pay no income tax for 1998 is climbing, thanks largely to the $400 per child tax credit. Moreover, taxpayers with higher incomes will shoulder an increasing share of the nation's income tax structure, reports congress's Joint Committee on Taxation.

• Nearly 48 million Americans will owe no income taxes for this year -- up from 46 million last year.

• Most of them make less than $20,000 a year.

• People making over $100,000 a year will pay 62 percent of all income taxes -- up from 56 percent the year before.

• Those earning more than $40,000 will account for 95.5 percent of income taxes.

Less than 1 percent of people earning more than $75,000 pay no taxes. The average tax liability for those making between $100,000 and $200,000 is $19,688, the report said.

The 47.8 million who pay no income taxes represent more than one- third of the people required to file tax returns. For families with one or two children, the $400 credit can reduce income taxes to zero but not trigger a refund. But for families with three or more children, a portion of the total credit can result in a refund.

Sources: "Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 1999-2003" December 14, 1998, Joint Committee on Taxation, U.S. Congress, Washington D.C.; Associated Press, "Millions of Americans Will Pay No Taxes," Washington Times, December 16, 1998.