Paid-in capital in excess of par?

Par Value or Stated Value is essentially the "Face Value" or the initial offering price of a share of stock (whether for a public or privately held company). Paid-in capital is anything the company receives from stockholders for the sale of stock above and beyond the par value, i.e. in excess of Par.

This excess received from stockholders over par-valueor stated-valueof the stock issued is also called contributed capital in excess of par.

For example, if 1000 shares of $10 par value common stock is issued by the company at a price of $12 per share, the additional paid-in capital is $2000 (1000 shares x $2). Additional paid-in capital is NOT an asset or a liability to the company, it is shown in the stockholder-s-equitysection of the balance sheet. (Assets = Liabilities + Equity)