diff --git a/.changeset/fair-lobsters-teach.md b/.changeset/fair-lobsters-teach.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10d24a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fair-lobsters-teach.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"payload-auth-plugin": patch
+---
+
+Allow existing users to sign in and link via OAuth by returning the existing user record instead of null in \_createUser.
diff --git a/src/core/protocols/oauth/oauth_authentication.ts b/src/core/protocols/oauth/oauth_authentication.ts
index 8ae77f3..4556974 100644
--- a/src/core/protocols/oauth/oauth_authentication.ts
+++ b/src/core/protocols/oauth/oauth_authentication.ts
@@ -51,9 +51,8 @@ async function _createUser({ email, name, collections, request, allowOAuthAutoSi
       data,
       returning: true
     })
-  } else {
-    return null
-  }
+  } 
+
   return userRecord
 }
 export async function OAuthAuthentication(