Paid in capital

Accounting

Historical cost Constant purchasing power Management Tax
Major types Auditing Cost Forensic Financial Fund Governmental Management Social Tax
Key concepts Accounting period Accrual Constant purchasing power Economic entity Fair value Going concern Historical cost Matching principle Materiality Revenue recognition Unit of account
Selected accounts Assets Cash Cost of goods sold Depreciation / Amortization Equity Expenses Goodwill Liabilities Profit Revenue
Accounting standards Generally-accepted principles Generally-accepted auditing standards Convergence International Financial Reporting Standards International Standards on Auditing Management Accounting Principles
Financial statements Annual report Balance sheet Cash-flow Equity Income Management discussion Notes to the financial statements
Bookkeeping Bank reconciliation Debits and credits Double-entry system FIFO and LIFO Journal Ledger / General ledger T accounts Trial balance
Auditing Financial Internal Firms Report
People and organizations Accountants Accounting organizations Luca Pacioli
Development History Research Positive accounting Sarbanes–Oxley Act
Business portal

Paid in capital (Paid-in capital or Contributed capital) refers to capital contributed to a corporation by investors through purchase of stock from the corporation (primary market) (not through purchase of stock in the open market from other stockholders (secondary market)). It includes share capital (i.e. capital stock) as well as additional paid-in capital.

The paid-in capital account does not reflect the amount of capital contributed by any specific investor. Instead, it shows the aggregate amount of capital contributed by all investors.

However, the term has different definitions in different contexts. For example, it could refer to the money that a company gets from potential investors in addition to the stated (nominal or par) value of the stock, which coincides with the definition of Additional paid-in capital (Paid-in capital in excess of par). The user should be aware of the use of the term and abbreviation, otherwise it may be misleading.

Basic concepts

Paid-in Capital (a.k.a. Contributed Capital) = A + B :

A = Share capital/Capital stock (Common stock plus Preferred stock)
B = Additional paid-in capital (a.k.a. Paid-in capital in excess of par.)

Additional Paid-in Capital

Excess received from shareholders over the par value (or stated value) of the stock issued; also called contributed capital in excess of par.

For example, if 1,000 shares of $10 par value common stock are issued at a price of $12 per share, the additional paid-in capital is $2,000 (1,000 shares x $2). Additional paid-in capital is shown in the Shareholders' Equity section of the balance sheet.

Paid in capital

Basic concepts

Additional Paid-in Capital

See also