Answer: $12,000 

The rules that apply to the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) state that you can contribute a maximum of $8,000 per year up to a lifetime limit of $40,000. If you don’t use all of your contribution room for the year, you can carry the remainder forward to the following year. In this case, since you only contributed $4,000 in the first year, you could carry $4,000 forward and add it to the $8,000 of contribution room for year two of your account – for a total of $12,000. 

Keep in mind, however, that unused contributions are not cumulative. The amount carried forward cannot exceed $8,000. Going back to our initial example, this means that if you don’t make a contribution at all in 2026, you will only be able to carry forward $8,000, not the whole $12,000 you were entitled to for that year.  

To find out more about the FHSA, read this article or visit the Government of Canada's official website.