6. Don't worry if you haven't got $20,000 (the maximum amount in 2012) to invest. Your unused contribution room is carried forward. When the TFSA was first introduced in 2009, Canadians had an initial limit of $5000. But that amount has gone up by $5000 annually so that it now sits at $20,000 for 2012. Next year it will be 25,000, in 2014 it will reach $30,000, etc.