The amount of capital "paid in" by investors during common or preferred stock issuances, including the par value of the shares themselves. Paid in capital represents the funds raised by the business from equity, and not from ongoing operations. Paid in capital is a company balance sheet entry listed under stockholder's equity, often shown alongside the balance sheet entry for additional paid-in capital. It may also be referred to as "contributed capital". Taobiz explains Paid In Capital Paid in capital can be compared to additional paid in capital, and the difference between the two values will equal the premium paid by investors over and above the par value of the shares. Preferred shares will sometimes have par values that are more than marginal, but most common shares today have par values of just a few pennies. Because of this, "additional paid in capital" tends to be representative of the total paid-in capital figure, and is sometimes shown by itself on the balance sheet.